MENTAL & PHYSICAL HEALTH
Managing Stress at School
Stress is a part of everyday life for students as well as
for adults. When managed in a healthy way, stress
can sometimes be positive, helping us with
productivity, motivation and meeting deadlines. It can
also be overwhelming when we don’t have the skills
and strategies for healthy coping.
Possible signs of stress in children include:
• whining
• poor listening
• crying
• nail biting
• day dreaming
• fighting with friends and family
• being overly cautious
• poor school performance
• lack of appetite or eating more than usual
• tense muscles
• headaches or stomach-aches
• being cold
• disturbed sleep
• poor concentration
• forgetfulness
• difficulty problem-solving
• being easily distracted
• confusion
Several schools and classrooms across KPR have started
having conversations about stress and its impact on our
physical and mental health. Many educators have started
using the Kids Have Stress Too program with reported
success. This program is currently being piloted in several
KPR schools through the “Mentally Healthy Schools Project”.
Experts estimate that as many as 75% to 95% of trips to the
physician are stress-related. Most of us never learn how to
properly manage it. But imagine how much healthier we'd
be if we had learned how to deal with stress when we were
young.
Helping Students Manage Stress in the Classroom
A few examples of things you can do it the classroom as
suggested by the Psychology Foundation of Canada:
• When you are feeling stressed during the school day,
openly model relaxation strategies, such as deep
breathing, talking through a problem, stretching, taking a
quiet break.
• Take time to teach your students specific techniques for
identifying and reducing stress that they can use at
school and elsewhere. (See the Kids Have Stress Too!®
website)
• Engage students in physically active play as often as
possible. Explain to them that exercise helps to burn off
excess energy while naturally reducing stress and anxiety.
• Give your students opportunities to work and play on
their own. This allows them to experience “alone time”
as a means of relaxation and rejuvenation.
• Create a “comfort zone” in your classroom, a quiet place
where students can go when they feel stressed to stretch,
meditate or read.
“Even the most nurturing home
and school environment includes a
range of stressors that can both
challenge and motivate children.
While stress is a necessary part of
development and learning, it’s
clear that Canadian families now
face more stress than ever before.
Stress among children is estimated
to have increased 45% over the
past 30 years. The good news is
that building emotional health
and resiliency can help children
concentrate, learn, interact more
successfully and deal with other
stressors they may face in their
lives”
(Psychology Foundation Canada)
www.psychologyfoundation.org
Check out the Kids Have Stress
Too® Website!
www.kidshavestresstoo.org
MENTAL & PHYSICAL HEALTH
Physical Activity Resources
Promoting Physical Activity in School
Our Provincial Government and The Ministry of Education
have identified that physical activity plays an important
role in promoting student well-being. Within the Ministry
of Educations Achieving Excellence Vision, educators are
asked to develop student well-being by supporting the
whole child – not only the child's academic achievement
but also his or her cognitive, emotional, social and physical
well-being. In order to develop a student’s physical wellbeing, it is important to provide the tools and motivation
to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle, both in and outside of
school. To meet this goal we must promote Physical
Activity in our schools.
There is no debate about the value of regular physical
activity. It has significant health benefits: it can improve
self-image, foster the development of pride and selfconfidence, provide the stamina to complete tasks, allow
us to enjoy solitude or build social interaction and it can
reduce stress and anxiety.
In the past few years, neuroscientists have also made
significant strides in quantifying physical activities brainboosting power. "When you exercise and move around,
you are using more brain cells," says Dr. Ratey, who is also
the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of
Exercise and the Brain (2008). "Exercise is the single best
thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory,
and learning,"
“For young minds, the benefits to academic performance
and attention are also convincing: Not only do children with
higher levels of fitness have a more developed brain
structure and perform better on cognitive tests, embedding
exercise (even short spells of moderate activity) into
classroom time improves focus, retention and test scores.”
(Erin Andersen, The Globe and Mail).
How Can We Promote Physical Activity At School
• Provide Quality Physical Education Classes that develop
student’s fundamental skills and create a positive
atmosphere
• Provide Interschool and Intramural activities for students
• Connect with Community Partners
*Physical Activity Presenters
*Organizations and Agencies
(Health Units, YMCA)
*Encourage and enable parental volunteers
• Be creative when incorporating DPA into daily schedules
*Sparks or Fitness Breaks
*Whole School DPA Activities
• Incorporate a Physical Activity Program
(60 minute club, At my Best)
• Work with outside agencies to develop a before and after
school physical activity program
• Become a Healthy School and make your focus Physical
Activity
KPR Healthy Schools Site
(Teaching and Learning) This
website will provide many valuable
resources to KPR staff and schools to
assist in the continued development of
a Healthy School and Physical Activity.
60 Minutes Club The Heart and
Stroke Foundation 60 Minute Kids'
Club (60MKC) is a fun and engaging
program designed to get children from
K - Gr. 8 excited about making the
right healthy choices.
Sparking Life Sparking Life is on a
mission to transform America’s
sedentary lifestyle. To bring
movement back into our lives.
The Toronto Pan Am Games The
Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Tourism Culture and Sport and the
TORONTO 2015 Pan American /
Parapan American Games Organizing
Committee are working together to
educate youth about the TORONTO
2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games