January 2023 - Self-Care

Happy New Year!

We hope you had an absolutely fantastic Christmas break! We are so excited to begin a new year, we look forward to making new memories filled with laughter and joy.

Last month we talked about gratitude, thank you to anyone who participated in the activities and tried to incorporate gratitude in both their own and their families lives! Gratitude is such a powerful tool in building a positive mind, and a positive mind plays such a large role in creating self-belief and pushing students to be the best versions of themselves.

This month our focus will be on self-care. Self-care consists of intentional things that we do for ourselves that can help us to feel comfortable, confident, and reduce the stress in our lives. Self-Care at North Star looks different for everyone! This could range from putting deodorant on in the morning to taking time out of our day for fun and games with classmates. It is beneficial for every person to take time to do things that helps them to reset and relax.

Here is a video that talks about what self-care can look like for kids! Self-care Just For Kids - Creative Touch Counseling Center. Teaching kids what self-care is when they are young can instill positive habits that they can practice as they grow older.

Below are some resources that may help both you and your children to understand self-care on a deeper level:

Kids Help Line - Looking after yourself Explains some of the important aspects of self-care and what you might notice if there is a part of your life that you have not been taking care of.

Mindful - Mindfulness for Kids Mindfulness, being present in the moment and not stressing about the future or the past is a skill that takes practice to become good at. This website provides meditations as well as mindfulness activities to try with your children.

For more resources, check out the Self-Care page of the NLPS website.

If you would like to get in contact with one of the counsellors at the school you can call 780-594-3232 and ask for Brady Green (brady.green@nlsd.ab.ca) if your child is in grade 4 or 5 or ask for Dusty Fraser (dusty.fraser@nlsd.ab.ca) if your child is in kindergarten to grade 3.