North York high school pauses classes, offers week-long focus on mental health

A North York high school is offering a unique experience to students and staff, taking a week-long break from regular activities to focus on a series of emotional intelligence workshops.

For the second year in a row, as a part of Mental Health Week, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute along with some community partners created a program called the New Normal and has even included parents in the programming.

It comes as a recent Ontario school study found there was a 30 per cent increase in emergency room visits from youth related to self-harm and 56 per cent of students feel depressed about the future since the pandemic.

The week involves educational seminars on different mental health topics like developing better relationships, intergenerational trauma and preparing for the future.

“Our Mental Health Week is called the New Normal because it’s an attempt to reduce the stigma around mental health by normalizing conversations around mental health and increasing the access to services that support young people, parents and teachers around mental health,” said Vice-Principal Joseph Smith.

One of the community partners is Shira Taylor, the founder of SExT (Sex Education through Theatre). She said a needs assessment recently done at York University about youth mental health helped drive some of their programming.

“We found that the top three reasons that students aren’t reaching out were fear of being judged, fear about how their parents might react and fear about confidentiality,” said Taylor. “So that’s why these conversations are so important because we’re fighting against those taboos.”

Students also participate in wellness activities during lunch time including expressive movement, poetry, culinary club and workshops on healthy communication, confidence and stress management.

“We’ve talked about bullies and opening up to parents about what’s going on with us, so we have the chance to hear from the youth what they’re struggling with, and then the chance to help them develop those skills,” added Taylor.

The week also included a parents’ night to engage parents in the conversation and education on mental health and a fun day for students and staff to “let loose” and build lasting bonds.

“We always have questions and it’s good to have the different organizations here to discuss those questions,” Umema Wasiq, a Grade 11 student, said.

Students tell CityNews with the pressure of school and post-secondary learning, it is nice to just unwind.

“There is a lot of pressure for college, university and apprenticeships, so being able to sort of relax and have a day to relax is good and I feel like a lot of students are feeling connected and engaged as well,” added Wasiq.