Children's Mental Health Week 2020

Please click here or on the image below to view our Mental Health Week activities and events as a PDF and access links to events/activities.

To access resources for children/youth and parents/guardians, please click here.

Please watch the video below for a message from
Candice Kerkermeier, KPDSB Mental Health Leader.

Video transcript:

Good morning KPDSB families and caregivers. My name is Candice Kerkermeier and I am the Mental Health Leader for Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

I wanted to take this time to reach out to all of you to let you know that all of us at KPDSB are thinking of you and your children. Given the current pandemic and to honour mental health week next week I am sharing this short message with you.

It is important to remember that during times of uncertainty and change our children’s mental health may be affected, as well as our own. A certain level of stress is normal and expected given the circumstances we are currently in, however, in the event you are feeling signs of distress (negative thoughts, sadness, loneliness), that are long in duration, high in frequency, large in intensity and that impact your normal daily functioning we encourage you to reach out for help.

Our KPDSB website has a number of mental health resources for students, parents and staff. The tabs include links to agencies such as Kids Help Phone, Jack.org, and School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO). Youth created resources such as the Reaching Out and Self-Care 101 documents are also easily accessible. Parent resources include how to start a mental health conversation, red flags and how to respond if you recognize distress, as well as many others.

Our new COVID-19 Information and Updates tab also includes mental health supports during a pandemic link where you can find resources and contact information for local community mental health supports. In the event you or your child(ren) are in need of support, please access the need support tab for access to youth and adult outreach numbers.

In honour of Mental Health Week, May 4-10th, our mental health team has also put together a Week at a Glance for access to various resources and webinars for both students and caregivers. 

Also, please don’t forget to encourage your children to follow us on our new KPDSB Mental Health Instagram account at kpdsb_schools_mental_health for daily mental health posts and smiles.

Please remember to reach out for help in the event you or your child is struggling.

Be Well,

Candice Kerkermeier
KPDSB Mental Health Leader