student safety

On October 17, 2018, cannabis will become legal. Teen Mental Health has created resources you can use to help educate yourself and youth. The adolescent years are crucial for brain growth and development and cannabis use can affect how our brains develop. This means it is critical to provide information on the potential side effects and help answer any questions. 

These evidence-based resources were developed by Dr. Stan Kutcher in partnership with Dr. Selene Etches (IWK Health Centre), Dr. Phil Tibbo (Nova Scotia Health Authority/Dalhousie University) and Dr. Rob Milin (University of Ottawa). Feel free to use and distribute these resources with whomever you feel will benefit.

For Students

For Parents/Guardians

Emergency Management Planning for Schools, Districts and Authorities

Emergencies are unpredictable. We usually have little warning that an event or series of events may cause a massive disruption in our lives and our communities. As one of the major areas in which people gather, schools are places where emergency preparedness is critically important to the well-being of students and employees and to the confidence that parents feel in entrusting their children to the care of educators in BC schools.

The Emergency Management Planning Guide for Schools, Districts and Authorities is intended to provide support to public, independent and First Nations schools in upholding their responsibilities during an emergency.

The Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Center at the University of BC is a research team which looks at health inequities and strengths among stigmatized groups of youth, as well as the programs and policies that support them. They have compiled a short fact-sheet based on a decade of research with LGBTQ that can teach us about student well-being and how we can make schools more welcoming places to improve student health.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in the ground. You can’t see it or smell it. When radon gas seeps inside an enclosed space, such as a home or workplace, it can build up to high levels and become a health risk. Long term exposure to high radon levels is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second leading cause after smoking overall. All homes and buildings have some level of radon. Radon levels tend to be the highest in enclosed spaces and lower floors of a building since they are closest to the ground source. Since any building can have high radon levels, it’s important that all buildings get tested.

Learn more about Radon

Public schools in the North Shore/Coast Garibaldi regions of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) (North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast, Powell River and Central Coast) were screened for radon during the 2017/2018 school year. VCH conducted a radon school testing project in 2017/18 where they tested over 90 schools. Read their Final Report.

Recognizing that awareness related to radon has increased significantly over the last five years, Health Canada has contracted Scout Environmental to help identify potential new opportunities to educate Canadians into action. Health Canada has funded several campaigns related to radon and while these campaigns have made significant strides, there continues to be a disconnect between education and action.

Scout Environmental (Scout) and BCCPAC have partnered to increase awareness on radon and the importance of testing through several engagement channels. Scout’s Program Ambassadors will be in attendance at our annual Parent Education Conference in May 2020 to engage parents on the topic of radon and offer an exclusive discount on Health Canada approved long-term radon test kits.

We have written a letter of support for the program as we know this is important to members. We will work with Scout Environmental to help educate parents and school boards. We will share more information with parents as we progress.

 In cooperation with Safer Schools Together, the Ministry of Education has created/updated "Raising Digitally Responsible Youth" parent guide. 

 There is more information at Safer Schools Together,  ERASE site, Common Sense Media and many others.