Molly Brandt Public School 7/8

Hey everybody,

We are Emma and Sydney, and we have been spending our Wednesday afternoons at Molly Brant with Ms. Parsons’ grade 7/8 class. Our time in this class has been very rewarding. The students have a ton of energy and are always full of awesome questions. So far we have covered topics such as substance use and abuse, self-care, personal hygiene, and social media. Our lessons are always full of activities, including small group brainstorming, videos, and even a full class of health-themed dodgeball – definitely our most memorable lesson.  It is never a dull moment at Molly Brant, and we are really looking forward to our time in the classroom in the new year. We are kicking thing off with a lesson centred on values and goal-setting, and hope to cover topics such as mental health, healthy relationships, and contraceptives this term. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to teach in this lively classroom each week, and collaborate with our wonderful teacher, Ms. Parsons.

Thanks again Molly Brant 7/8’s and Ms. Parsons, we’ll see you next week!

Hi everyone! 

We are Larkin and Carley, and together we teach the grade 7/8 split class at Frontenac Public School. Our time with this class has been amazing! So far, we have covered topics such as alcohol use, drug use, contraceptives, healthy relationships and sexual orientation. To enhance the classroom’s experience, we have incorporated many videos which the students love! We have also play games such as jeopardy. Other activities that we have ran include making comic strips, acting out scenarios and creating mental health posters. This classroom loves to be challenged! To challenge them, we incorporate many discussion questions within our lessons to stimulate dialog with the students. The students are incredible at sharing personal experiences and information they have heard outside of school to help add more to the lesson. In the future, we plan to continue teaching on the topic of sexual health. We also hope to cover topics such as nutrition and positive well-being. We are incredibly grateful to have had this experience at Frontenac Public School. We have loved teaching this classroom each week and have learned so much through this opportunity. Our teacher, Meghan Squarebriggs, has also been an incredible resource for us! She has helped with lesson planning and ensuring that the classroom remains focused during our lessons.

Thank you again Frontenac Public School & Mrs. Squarebriggs! We have loved working with you.

Hello all!

We are the Kingston PE’s for the 4/5 split class at Frontenac Public School.  The topics we have discussed include nutrition, peer-pressure, bullying, self-esteem, and smoking. Our students are very enthusiastic regarding learning about health and are always eager to apply their knowledge and experience during open and healthy dialogue. Our students enjoy learning through different media and activities including playing jeopardy, comic strips, skits, watching videos and analyzing pictures of different scenarios. Based on anonymous feedback from our students, we will also be teaching about alcohol, hygiene, and making healthy choices. Our most effective teaching style thus far has been including multiple activities spread throughout our lesson plan to increase engagement. We are especially thankful for all of the support we have received from the teacher, Simon Pottery, as well as teaching staff, who help us create a safe environment in the classroom where the students feel comfortable in participating and sharing.

Thank you,

Romaisa & Victoria 

Our names are Anya and Max and we teach a grade 6/7 split class at Frontenac Public School every Tuesday afternoon. So far, we’ve covered topics such as bullying, substance use and abuse, self-confidence and goal setting. Coming up, we have lessons planned to discuss puberty, sexual health and healthy relationships! Our students love videos and playing Jeopardy which we’ve played a couple times to review our lessons. We have found the best method of teaching in our classroom involves open ended questions that lead to discussion and role playing situations. The students bring a lot of their personal experiences into our discussions which helps us to plan future lessons based on their interests and existing knowledge on certain topics. We love teaching at Frontenac Public School every week and look forward to a fun Outreach Day at the end of the year where we will be able to hang out with these awesome students outside of the classroom! A big thank you goes out to Nicola Dillard, the class’ teacher, who has been very helpful with lesson planning and opening up discussion in the classroom! Thank you so much for having us in your wonderful classroom!

QECVI Futures Classroom

Hi everyone!

Our names are Anya and Carley and we are excited to tell you a little about our experience with the Queen Elizabeth Collegiate Vocational Institute’s (QECVI) Futures program! The Futures program consisted of QECVI female students along with around fifteen Grade 7 and 8 female students from Rideau Heights Public School. We had the pleasure of teaching in the classroom once a week, using YouTube videos and activities to enhance our lessons. The classroom was set up in a way that fostered a mentor-mentee relationship amongst the girls. We covered topics including social media use, cyber bullying, female empowerment and personal well-being. Diana Oke, the Future’s teacher, was a wonderful outlet for ideas and supported us as we picked topics that were relevant and beneficial to junior high and high school aged girls. Throughout the semester, we strived to create a safe environment where the girls felt comfortable expressing themselves and could take on leadership roles. We have really enjoyed teaching in this classroom and hope that QHO will have the opportunity to return in the future! We are very appreciative that Diana welcomed us into her class with open arms and for her constant support!

Hello everyone!

Our names are Carolyn and Mytchel and we are excited to say that we have been given the opportunity to participate in a pilot program with the Four Directions Aboriginal Student Center this year with Queen’s Health Outreach. Located on campus, the Four Directions Center is a place devoted to teaching and celebrating the Aboriginal heritage. At Four Directions, we had the opportunity to work with several local high school students, learning about and exploring Aboriginal culture.

Diabetes is an ongoing problem in the Aboriginal community, so our role with QHO has been to educate students at Four Directions about diabetes prevention, treatment, and complications. We approached this topic by generating discussion with the students about how the customs related to Aboriginal culture are applied to the prevalence of diabetes. We also implemented activities to encourage critical thinking about risk reduction strategies that can be incorporated into traditional cultural practices.

Working with students at Four Directions was a rich opportunity for cultural exchange. It is our hope that QHO and Four Directions will be able to maintain this relationship for years to come!

Mytchel & Carolyn 

Hi all,

Our names are Mytchel and Nicole and we teach once a week in the KCVI Street Smart program located in downtown Kingston. The students in this program are working towards completing their high school credits and there are a variety of different students attending each week. During the fall, our lessons were very discussion-based as this is what worked best for the students. We have presented on a range of topics regarding health promotion, including Healthy Eating, Drug Use and Marijuana. In this class, we are able to tailor the discussions to their own personal lives and stories that they share. The teacher, Trina, is extremely knowledgeable about the personal lives of all of her students and is able to offer insight and input that allows the students to stay focused and on-track. So far in the winter semester, we have taught lessons on Physical Activity and Healthy Relationships. For part of our lesson on healthy relationships, we had a list of attributes that described healthy and unhealthy aspects of a relationship – and had the students categorize them and explain why they put it in each category. We then talked about consent, signs of abuse, and what to do after a sexual assault and incorporated local resources. Our future lessons plans include topics such as Pregnancy and Contraceptives. We have really enjoyed teaching in this classroom and think that each student has something unique to learn from our Queen’s Healthy Outreach. We are very appreciative of Trina for allowing us to teach in her classroom and for her on-going support! 

Mytchel & Nicole