Schools Plus
 Schools Plus originated as part of the Nova Scotia’s
Child and Youth Strategy, “Our Kids Are Worth It”
 The vision of Schools Plus is that schools become a
convenient place for government and other services to
be delivered to students and families
 The main objective of Schools Plus is to connect
students and families to supports and services, and
assist them in navigating through the system (s)
 Implementation of Schools Plus within the
Strait Regional School Board began in
October 2008 at Chedabucto Place and
expanded to Canso, Sherbrooke and Mulgrave
P-12 School with
323 Students
Fanning Education Centre
P-8 School with 143 Students
Canso Academy
9-12 School with 80 Students
8-12 School with
155 Students
P-7 School with 196
Students
P-8 School with 115 Students
Advisory Committee
The Committee has representation from:
 Community Services
 School Principals
 Addiction Services
 Regional Specialist from
 Public Health
the Child and Youth
Strategy
 Provincial Schools Plus
Coordinator
 Strait Regional School
Board’s Coordinator of
Student Services
 Kids First
 Family Services
 Guysborough Recreation
 RCMP
 ECYA (Eastern Comm
Youth Association
 Probation
Process
 Referral to Schools Plus
 Meet with Students/Caregivers- Intake Completed
 Assessment Completed – Services
 Comprehensive Service Agreement Completed
 Reviewed Monthly
Programs/Activities/Services
Valentines Day Dinner and Dance
 Schools Plus partnered with the Youth Health Centre,
Guysborough County Kids First, Department of
Agriculture Select Nova Scotia, Health Promoting
Schools and the Grade 6 service learners and had a
Valentines Family Dinner and Dance. (2010 & 2011)
 This event was an example of what can happen when
organizations work together.
Food Preparation
V
a
l
e
n
t
i
n
e
D
i
n
n
e
r &
D
a
n
c
e
St Patricks Day Celebration
March Break Activities
 The Service Learning Team (Grade 6), Youth Health
Centre , Schools Plus and Guysborough Recreation put
together a St. Patrick’s Day Fun-Day full of activities.
The day consisted of games outside, cookie-making
and a movie at the end of the day. (2010 & 2011)
 Fanning Education Center – 2011- March Break
Activities (Partnered with Addiction Services/
Guys. Recreation
Boys Group – ‘The Unknowns’
Fanning Education Centre
 How They Came to be ‘Known’
 Wayne Weir, Principal at Fanning Education Centre identified the






need for a boys group
A gap existed in programming for boys equal to that being offered to
girls of the same age
Wayne collaborated with the Schools Plus Facilitator to begin the
coordination of the group
Marguerite, Schools Plus, met with the Grade 8 boys to help them
identify their programming needs
Based on the boys’ feedback, Schools Plus then coordinated 6
services to deliver weekly topics
Rationale was to give the boys the information they had requested in
a format that provided them with exposure to multiple services
The Group format was collaborative in nature in both its
development and delivery
Boys Group
Fanning Education Centre
 Six Grade 8 boys
 Self named (Unknowns)
 14 years old
 Interests vary from hunting, fishing, skateboarding, girls,
music, drugs, alcohol, community involvement
 Family backgrounds cross all levels of socio-economic status to
create a diverse group of boys
 Have attended school in rural Nova Scotia together since grade
primary
 Do not have the opportunity to socialize together out of school
due to geographical isolation
Service providers who facilitated
group sessions:
 Schools Plus
 Family Service and The Mens Health Centre
 RCMP
 Addiction Services
 Public Health
 Guysborough Recreation
 Department of Community Services
Meal Prep for Service Providers
St.FX Science Camps-2010
 Schools Plus partnered with St.F.X. and Family Services
to provide Science Camps for Guysborough and Canso
 Canso Camps from July 19-23
 Guysborough from August 9-13
Goals for 2010-2011
 Boys Group in all Schools
 Grade 7 Girls – Voices-A program of self-discovery and
empowerment
 Coordinate various Presentations within the schools
 Roots of Empathy Training
 Restorative Practices in Schools
 Developmental Assets Survey in schools in Guys County
 March Break and Summer Activities
 Advocate for students, families & Communities
 Continued Partnership; Parenting Programming - Canso
Events—Various Partners
 Christmas Concert (Dec 2010)
 Roots of Empathy (Nov 2010)
 Family Day Activities (Feb 2011)
 Valentines Dinner and Dance (Feb 2011)
 Programming for March Break- Guysborough/Fanning
 Voices Group – Grade 7 Girls in Guysborough
 Developmental Assets Survey- May 2011
 Planning Summer Activities in all schools in Guys
County