Above: For the second year, Grand Erie is providing all schools with Wellness Kits, such as the elementary edition shown above, filled with activities and resources.

Empowering Emotional Resilience  

TUESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2023

Above: Wellness Kits are now available for Grand Erie secondary school students.

As students’ needs evolve, Grand Erie does too. For the second year, Grand Erie is providing schools with wellness kits, filled with proactive activities and School Mental Health Ontario resources to help focus awareness and promote positive mental health strategies.

This year, the project is broadening its reach by expanding to all secondary schools, which will receive:

• Blank journals to write out thoughts and feelings
• Writing prompts to focus on gratitude and help channel feelings of anxiety
• Key ring cards with 20 calming strategies
• Key ring cards with positive affirmations (e.g. “This is a thought, not a fact. I’ve stopped my negative thoughts before and I can do it again.”)
• Positive affirmation stickers (e.g. “Loved. Strong. Enough.”)
• A variety of fidget tools to support relaxation and focus
• A poster featuring a six-step calm breathing exercise from Mental Health Ontario
• A compilation of community connections and social networks for mental health support

Above: A Sensory Walk is a fun and interactive activity aimed at promoting awareness of your surroundings as an aid to self-regulation.

Elementary classes are receiving grade-specific resources to help develop self-regulation skills. These tools include:

• My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing book
• Breathing is my Superpower book
• Key ring cards illustrating different feelings to help identify and address emotions
• Key ring cards with calming yoga poses
• Several posters featuring breathing and grounding exercises
• A breathing ball to encourage deep, slow breaths
• A variety of fidget tools to support relaxation and focus
• Vinyl ‘wall push’ stickers to help with self-regulation
• Vinyl ‘sensory walk’ stickers 

“The wellness kits provide great resources to support students, and the sensory walk is such a fun and engaging way to help with self-regulation,” said Amy Vukelich, a Child and Youth Worker in Grand Erie. “Both students and staff enjoy the activity break, and it makes the hallways look bright and fun.” 

The wellness kits are an interactive and empowering tool, echoing Grand Erie’s mission to build a culture of learning, well-being and belonging. The information and resources the kits provide add to the ongoing conversations in Grand Erie schools around well-being, allowing learners to focus on their own wellness – strategies that are important now, and for continued success.