SAYCW supports schools and communities in turning knowledge of youth health and well-being into positive action. One way SAYCW does this is by offering an opportunity for schools and communities to apply for our Healthy Schools and Communities Grant.
This page showcases health promoting initiatives funded by this grant program.
Visit often as we will be changing this page frequently, showing a variety of health promoting initiatives.
Interested in learning more about one of these projects so you can try one? Contact the School-Community Engagement Coordinator for more information.
This is a video of the Westmount Community School Outdoor Métis Cultural Classroom, a recipient of a SAYCW Healthy Schools and Communities Grant. This video was taped at the Métis Day of Learning, hosted by the Westmount Community School. This space is primarily used by the school’s Metis Cultural Program for students, but is also used by their Koohkoom group, girls group, boys group and community. This Métis Cultural Classroom will continue to be used for traditional learning’s including history, cooking, ceremonies, crafting, and storytelling. It is also a gathering place in the community for socializing and being.
Nutrition in Schools and Daycares
For the third year in a row, nutrition workers from across northern Saskatchewan came together to learn new recipes, work on menu planning, discuss how to support each other, and learn about sources of added sugar in regular diets. 14 participants came from three schools and seven daycares.
Collaboration
Participants discussed program ideas with others who do the same kind of work as them, i.e., how to get kids to try new recipes, how to reduce sugar in baking, and how to adjust recipes to accommodate allergies.
Menu Planning
Participants collectively offered healthy breakfast, snack and lunch ideas during a facilitated menu planning activity.
Recipe Demonstration
Participants helped prepare healthy snacks and meals that everyone enjoyed.
The Heart of the Youth Pow-Wow: Empowering Youth, Strengthening our Community was a youth-led, youth-focused event, which recognized that the heart of any community is only as strong as the heart of its children/youth! The Pow-Wow took place May 25, 2018 at the Kinsmen Park in Prince Albert. The Pow-Wow provided the following opportunities:
As reported by the Prince Albert Daily Herald, the event had “great turnout, great sharing, great entertainment-it’s a great education program.”
Click on the link below to watch news coverage of this great event:
More than 1,000 gather for powwow in Prince Albert | CTV Saskatoon
This grant recipient purchased pedal desks to help students focus, increase physical activity, improve mood and sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, and to improve memory and learning.
They celebrated their uptake of the pedal desks (and increased physical activity) with a bowling party!
This school improved the mental health of their students through
A movie was selected from a mental health related theme each month (e.g., Cyber-bullying, social media, anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, teen pregnancy, emotions, drug use, and alcohol). Students created their own related videos on the topic to be shown before the movie and community guests were invited to speak after the movie (e.g., RCMP, local health unit, etc.). Some of these videos grew into cooperative projects among a few grades.
This part of the initiative included presentations from Understand Us (presentation from the lens of a young person who has struggled with mental health) and Dwayne Peace (presentation called Life’s Challenges in Secondary School). Dwayne Peace also facilitated small group sessions to create student participation, especially for those students in need of extra support. One session resulted in a list of coping strategies that was shared throughout the school.
The initiative resulted in high satisfaction from students, a reduction in the school social worker’s caseload, improved attendance and teacher-student relationships, and an increase in empathy among students. A PEERS group was developed to continue spreading motivational messages throughout the school.
Support youth and community well-being through the collaborative action of community partners working together. Through evidence, tools and resources, SAYCW supports stakeholders to turn the knowledge gained through the youth health survey into health promoting action.
This brief questionnaire seeks feedback from schools, school divisions, and other Saskatchewan stakeholders on the SAYCW Youth Health Survey 2015, the results reports, and the Healthy Schools and Communities grant. We hope to learn from you to improve SAYCW’s work in conducting our next Thriving Youth, Thriving Communities Survey in 2019, preparing the results reports, and translating the knowledge into health promoting action.
