Wellness Initiatives at Isabelle Sellon School

Written by Karen Manzer, C.C.C., Family School Liaison Counsellor

Isabelle Sellon School (ISS) is a grade 4-6 middle school located in the beautiful Crowsnest Pass, with a mission to learn, play, and be well together. We are nestled beside baseball diamonds, the famed bike park, and right under the ski hill. We are a walk away from the Crowsnest River, the foot of Turtle Mountain, the Food Bank and Community Garden, and historic buildings in Blairmore. We are within a one-hour bus ride of numerous lakes, provincial and federal parks, and historic sites. With all this abundance, Isabelle Sellon staff, students, parents, and community members have embraced Place-based Learning for both academic enrichment and overall wellness. You will also see in the classrooms and hallways evidence of ISS as a Leader in Me school, with the 7 Habits taught and celebrated in multiple ways to encourage a culture of safety, well being, and optimal academic and personal growth. 

Wellness includes components of a sense of belonging; self-regulation; executive functioning; feeling connected to peers, staff, their learning, and the environment around them; feeling seen,  heard, and valued, among many others. To this end, ISS programming includes events such as Kindness Day, Hats on for Mental Health Day, and days organized by the student council such as Crazy Hair Day or Anything but a Backpack Day. 

Each school within the Livingstone Range School Division has a Family School Liaison Counselling (FSLC) program. I am the counsellor for both Horace Allen School and Isabelle Sellon School. In addition to providing one-on-one short-term interventions and counselling, as well as small group counselling with students, the FSLCs partner with parents and guardians, whether through phone calls, in-person conversations, or family meetings which include their child. I also regularly consult with staff, and work with whole classes on regulation strategies and helping students reflect on what their brains and bodies need to be their best learning selves in the classroom. 

This fall, ISS was able to bring in a Canada-wide program called Counsellor in the Classroom for all ISS students. This is a program offered through Kids Help Phone, a Canadian charitable organization that supports youth with online and telephone counselling and support. Our FSLC and teachers took several class times to  teach engaging programming about different aspects of wellness, and ended with a zoom call from a Kids Help Phone counsellor where the students played games and discussed mental and emotional health, as well as discussed available supportive resources offered through Kids Help Phone. For more information on this, please see their website: https://kidshelpphone.ca