Grand Erie Launches Video Series Showcasing Equity

In 2016, Grand Erie approved a new strategic direction that guides the work that the school board is doing. At the centre of this Multi-Year Plan is the goal of Success for Every Student.

Each fall, as a way to highlight the Multi-Year Plan, a series of videos has been created. This year, to demonstrate what the Multi-Year Plan means, Grand Erie is focusing on one of the six indicators that helps the board achieve Success for Every Student.

Equity is a part of everything Grand Erie does, from the supports provided to students and staff, to the events and activities the board honours and celebrates. Equity is, and continues to be, a guiding force. These videos, created by Grand Erie’s Safe and Inclusive Schools Committee, tell just four of the many stories of students and staff embracing Equity.

The first video highlights Matt Cain, a Simcoe Composite School student who came out as transgender in Grade 11. After years of struggle, he found support from Jason Dale, a Guidance Teacher at the school. Jason helped Matt not only stay in school, but also succeed and thrive, providing the safe and encouraging environment that Matt needed to build his confidence. Matt now speaks to various groups, including the Children’s Aid Society of Haldimand and Norfolk, about his experiences.

 

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The second video highlights Nour and Khaled Aldakak, who settled in Brantford from Syria with their two children. They credit their successful transition to Canadian life to the supports they received from staff at Pauline Johnson Collegiate and Vocational School as well as the Grand Erie Learning Alternatives (GELA) team.

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Launched on Accessibility Awareness Day in Grand Erie, the third video in the series features the story of Brent Flicks, a former student who attended Simcoe Composite School. Brent was born with spinal muscular atrophy, and uses a wheelchair. He brings an inspiring message about equity and inclusion that celebrates the spirit of Accessibility Awareness Day.

 

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This fourth and final video in the series highlights Maria, a member of the Low German Mennonite community who was struggling to move forward in life, lacking the education she desired. Through the Moms & Tots program, facilitated by the Norfolk Help Centre, she was able to get the support she needed to succeed. She completed secondary school through a Grand Erie Learning Alternatives (GELA) program. The program provides child care so mothers are able to work on their education. Maria is currently employed at the Norfolk Help Centre, where she works as a facilitator, helping people with translation, as well as accessing health care.

Good Food Adds Up to Good Learning at Courtland Pubic School

Evidence suggests that breakfast and snack programs in schools:

• Improves children’s school performance, memory and test grades
• Enhances students’ physical, emotional, social and intellectual development
• Increases attendance rates, particularly for nutritionally at risk children
• Provides additional time for children to eat and drink nutritious breakfasts and snacks
• Provides energy for students to be more physically
• Enhances nutritional status of students by replacing the consumption of foods with low nutritional value with more nutritious choices, such as more vegetables and fruit
• Promotes a sense of community by bringing people together to ensure all children are well-nourished
• Leads to better dietary habits by increasing the frequency of eating breakfast
• Reduces the prevalence of vitamin and mineral deficiencies

With the generous support of the Child Nutrition Network and the Grand Erie District School Board, the school was able to renovate a room in the school into a nutrition program kitchen. Funds provided by the Child Nutrition Network and school fundraising monies purchase the good food and materials needed to run the program.

Every morning at 8 a.m., parent volunteers and their children arrive to prepare and distribute the food for the day. This program would not happen without their enthusiastic support.

Each serving of food includes a dairy product (i.e. yogurt, cheese string), a grain product (i.e. crackers, mixed cereal, muffin, whole wheat bun) and a fruit product (i.e. apple, banana, clementine orange, grapes, juice) or a vegetable product (i.e. cucumber slices, raw carrots). A container filled with food is delivered to each classroom and as children get settled for a day of learning, staff and students are encouraged to help themselves to a delicious and nutritious start to the day.

“Nutrition programs, such as the one at Courtland Public School, are happening in many schools within the Grand Erie District School Board. It’s a huge effort supported by the Board, volunteers and community agencies. Working together, it’s amazing what can be done. We feel most grateful to have this opportunity for our Courtland school community”, says principal Deb Opersko.

Roots of Empathy

Courtland Public School offers the Roots of Empathy program in our Kindergarten A classroom. Our Early Childhood Educator, Mrs. L. Wildman is a trained Roots of Empathy instructor. Our Roots of Empathy baby and her mom are welcome visitors to the classroom.

An explanation of program, from the Roots of Empathy website is included below:

Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among schoolchildren by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. The program reaches elementary schoolchildren from Kindergarten to Grade 8. In Canada, the program is delivered in English and French and reaches rural, urban, and remote communities including Aboriginal communities. Roots of Empathy is also delivered in New Zealand, the United States, Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Emotional Literacy

At the heart of the program are a neighbourhood infant and parent who visit the classroom every three weeks over the school year. A trained Roots of Empathy Instructor coaches students to observe the baby's development and to label the baby's feelings. In this experiential learning, the baby is the "Teacher" and a lever, which the instructor uses to help children identify and reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others. This "emotional literacy" taught in the program lays the foundation for more safe and caring classrooms, where children are the "Changers". They are more competent in understanding their own feelings and the feelings of others (empathy) and are therefore less likely to physically, psychologically and emotionally hurt each other through bullying and other cruelties. In the

Roots of Empathy program children learn how to challenge cruelty and injustice. Messages of social inclusion and activities that are consensus building contribute to a culture of caring that changes the tone of the classroom. The Instructor also visits before and after each family visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized lesson plan for each visit. Research results from national and international evaluations of Roots of Empathy indicate significant reductions in aggression and increases in pro-social behaviour.