December's Wellness Challenge

Although we have not yet celebrated the winners of our November Wellness Challenge, it's fair to say that the whole school community already won when you look at all the activities that were planned in November around Nutrition and Body Image!  Our staff and students were involved in Yoga, a session at the Cross Fit Gym, not to mention the Volleyball tournament that took place here at SJW last week! Our staff and students really got active and feel better for it! We also had a couple of nutritionists visit us from the Nutrition Professionals of Canada to speak with our students about healthy eating, label reading, body image, and grocery shopping over the course of four sessions. It was a great month for our students and stayed tuned to see who will win the challenge for November in the next couple of weeks.

The focus for this month is "Holiday Stress".  Rebecca, our social worker, has created a list of activities to help battle the stress that can come along with the holidays.

Home For The Holidays

As the holiday break approaches, some tips to help your family manage the folly and jolly that the season brings…

·         Try to enforce a solid sleep pattern. Your kids may beg to stay up late and sleep all day, but having a consistent sleep cycle will make for a smooth transition back to school.

·         Sugar High- By all means indulge in some delicious holiday treats, but balance it out with a few fruits and veggies.

·         “Baby its Cold Outside”- Get those bodies moving and encourage outside time. Oxygen and physical activity make for a better mood and overall health.

·         Literacy- Encourage your child to show off their reading abilities by reading out loud to you or a younger sibling.

·         Holiday Stress- kids have an amazing ability to pick up on the emotional energy in a room. If parents are stressed, so are the kids….take your emotional temperature and if needed, take a “chill pill”!

·         Blue Christmas- Not everyone looks forward to the holidays. For some it is a reminder of loss. Those who have lost a loved one, are going through a divorce or lost a job may not want to join in the festivities and prefer to use the season as a time to reflect or escape. Be gentle with each other and don’t pass judgement.