Imagine if we unleashed all schools’ full potential to foster the social-emotional wellbeing of children and youth. Apart from the home, schools are the most influential setting for child and youth development. Adding wellbeing to an already packed schedule can be a challenge, so school communities are looking to find new and creative ways to integrate wellbeing within their existing daily practice. Emergence In the 2015-16 school year, WellAhead – a How to Get Involved philanthropic initiative of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation – will take six BC school districts Over the next few months, there will be multiple through a community-led process that will bring opportunities for parents, educators, youth, multiple stakeholders together to identify ways to administrators, and community partners to be integrate wellbeing into school communities. involved in the co-design phase: Everyday Practices Share your insights on wellbeing in schools or the WellAhead process (ongoing) The focus this year is on how “everyday Join an information session (Sept 2015) practices” can lead to greater integration of Join a brainstorming event (Oct 2015): wellbeing in schools Session #1: Tues, October 2o 7pm-9pm Everyday practices are sustainable approaches Winslow Centre, Gallery Room to advancing student wellbeing that don’t cost a Register: lot, that fit naturally within the role of schools, Or email dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca and that build upon assets and strengths. Session#2: Wed, October 21 7pm-9pm Approach Minnekhada Middle WellAhead draws upon a social innovation lab Register: framework, which includes three core elements: or email dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca Co-design: Bringing multiple perspectives – Give input through an online public input educators, administrators, students, parents platform (Nov 2015) Info to follow. and community partners – together to brainstorm solutions For more information on how to get involved, Prototyping: Implementing a set of everyday contact your local WellAhead Community Liaison, practices in schools, evaluating their Darren McMillan, at dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca. effectiveness, and understanding how change happens in schools Scaling: Sharing what we learn broadly to influence practice, policy, and public opinion. Values Collaboration Mass Participation Collective Ownership Transparency
Imagine if we unleashed all schools’ full potential to foster the social-emotional wellbeing of children and youth. Apart from the home, schools are the most influential setting for child and youth development. Adding wellbeing to an already packed schedule can be a challenge, so school communities are looking to find new and creative ways to integrate wellbeing within their existing daily practice. In the 2015-16 school year, WellAhead – a philanthropic initiative of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation – will take six BC school districts through a community-led process that will bring multiple stakeholders together to identify ways to integrate wellbeing into school communities. Everyday Practices The focus this year is on how “everyday practices” can lead to greater integration of wellbeing in schools Everyday practices are sustainable approaches to advancing student wellbeing that don’t cost a lot, that fit naturally within the role of schools, and that build upon assets and strengths. Approach WellAhead draws upon a social innovation lab framework, which includes three core elements: Co-design: Bringing multiple perspectives – educators, administrators, students, parents and community partners – together to brainstorm solutions Prototyping: Implementing a set of everyday practices in schools, evaluating their effectiveness, and understanding how change happens in schools Scaling: Sharing what we learn broadly to influence practice, policy, and public opinion. Values Collaboration Mass Participation Collective Ownership Transparency Emergence How to Get Involved Over the next few months, there will be multiple opportunities for parents, educators, youth, administrators, and community partners to be involved in the co-design phase: Share your insights on wellbeing in schools or the WellAhead process (ongoing) Join an information session (Sept 2015) Join a brainstorming event (Oct 2015): Session #1: Tues, October 2o 7pm-9pm Winslow Centre, Gallery Room Register: Or email dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca Session#2: Wed, October 21 7pm-9pm Minnekhada Middle Register: or email dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca Give input through an online public input platform (Nov 2015) Info to follow. For more information on how to get involved, contact your local WellAhead Community Liaison, Darren McMillan, at dmacmillan@sd43.bc.ca.
WellAhead%20One-Pager%20-%20Coquitlam.docx