A
new website will give parents, educators and service providers
across Elgin, London/Middlesex and Oxford easy access to information
they need to better support students and their families who
experience mental health challenges.
The website - a culmination of the
collective efforts of the Student Support Leadership Initiative and
thehealthline.ca over the last several months - was launched today
at a news conference at the Catholic Education Centre, with the help
of a troupe of students from John Paul ll Catholic Secondary School,
who acted out some of the problems and solutions facing young
people.
The site can
be found at www.mentalhealth4kids.ca.
It provides one-stop shopping for more than
250 organizations and 800 programs, as well as links to provincial
services such as the Mental Health library, Mental Health Library,
e-therapy and mindyourmind. It also provides a community calendar of
events and program and may be searched by age, region and specific
need.
The Student Support Leadership Initiative (SSLI)
- the result of a joint effort by the Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Child & Youth Services - was created in 2007 to
support school boards and community agencies to better meet the
non-academic needs of students in a timely and effective manner.
Locally at the SSLI table there are over 30 community agencies and
the two school boards who have joined forces across the Thames
Valley region to find ways to better support children and youth.
One of the key provincial goals is improved
access to mental health services and supports for students and their
families. The Student Support Leadership Initiative was responsible
for coming up with a strategy to improve access through technology.
Locally, the Ministry of Health joined the other two ministries and
formed a partnership with thehealthline.ca to create this site.
The new website is the latest addition to
the family of websites developed by thehealthline.ca - Southwestern
Ontario's primary source of health services information.
What they said ...
"Information technology is one way
to eliminate barriers and to create equity of access to resources
and services in order to ensure safe, healthy, inclusive communities
where all students can achieve success" ... William Hall, Chair of the London
District Catholic School Board.
"Quick access to much needed
information will help families navigate what can sometimes seem like
an overwhelming system. The website will provide families with the
right information to support their children and youth."
...Helen Lowe, Ministry of Children & Youth Services, South West
Region
"The project shows a deep
commitment to the success of all of our children and youth."
... .Bill Bryce, Regional Manager, London Regional Office, Ministry
of Education.
"We can do so much more when we
work together. Bringing all the partners to the table allows us to
use our resources more effectively and serve children and our
community better."
... Marc Roberts, Executive Director of Oxford Elgin Child &
Youth Centre and member of the SSLI Leadership Team.
On
February 1 the new Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act (Bill
157) came into force. This legislation supports the London District
Catholic School Board's belief that all members of our school
community - staff, students, parents, and community agencies - have
a role to play in making our schools a safe place in which to learn.
Find out what's being done to keep our kids
safe and what parents should know. Click on the Bulletin Board
on the LDCSB front page.
Schools across the LDCSB
have been busy collecting money to help the earthquake victims in
Haiti. To date they have raised more than 60-thousand dollars
and the total continues to climb. If you want to help,
donations are being
collected by a number of relief agencies, including the Red Cross
and the Catholic charities:
Development
and Peace and Free
the Children
Celebrating Those
Who Have Made a Difference!
This will be the sixth year of an
initiative to profile London District Catholic School Board
Graduates who live the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations. Those
selected must be secondary school graduates of the London District
Catholic School Board or its predecessor Boards. They must
demonstrate impact in professional and/or personal life in the
following areas: spiritual, academic, aesthetic, social, or
physical; demonstrate fulfillment of the Ontario Catholic Graduate
Expectations; and demonstrate stewardship in Catholic Education.
Nominators must complete a nomination form, signed by the nominee
and submitted to John Boles at the Catholic Education Centre by
February 28th, 2010. (Printable nominations forms are available HERE).
There is a limit of one nomination per
nominator. A Selection Committee will review all nominations and
make a final decision based on the criteria. The graduate (s) will
be profiled in Spotlight, on the Board Website and during Education
Week. This is your opportunity to publicly honour someone you know
who has made a difference in the world around them!
Our
Mission
To serve the
Catholic student in a community that nurtures a living faith and provides a
quality Catholic education that enables the individual to
become a contributing member of the Church and
Society.
For feedback,
submissions, suggestions and input, please contact:
or contact:
John Boles, Manager of Communications, 519-663-2088, ext
40015
Spotlight
is produced weekly by the Communications Department of
the LDCSB.
Spotlight is a BRAVO
Award winner for demonstrated excellence, recognized by the
Canadian Association of Communicators in Education and a
winner of the Glorya Nanne Award from the Ontario
Association of Parents in Catholic Education for making a
substantial contribution to fostering better understanding of
Catholic Education.
A
new website will give parents, educators and service providers
across Elgin, London/Middlesex and Oxford easy access to information
they need to better support students and their families who
experience mental health challenges.
On
February 1 the new Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act (Bill
157) came into force. This legislation supports the London District
Catholic School Board's belief that all members of our school
community - staff, students, parents, and community agencies - have
a role to play in making our schools a safe place in which to learn.
Schools across the LDCSB
have been busy collecting money to help the earthquake victims in
Haiti. To date they have raised more than 60-thousand dollars
and the total continues to climb. If you want to help,
donations are being
collected by a number of relief agencies, including the Red Cross
and the Catholic charities: 
