Mindfulness Workshops for School Councils
Mindfulness Workshops for School Councils are designed to improve health and well-being, providing essential self-care tools. Parents and Caregivers can achieve immediate benefits for themselves and receive support for implementing mindfulness skills in their family life.
Studies have shown that parents and children who have received mindfulness training had reductions in stress and anxiety, and significant increases in self-compassion and self-awareness.
The workshops are experiential, providing parents with practical skills and knowledge about mindfulness: what it is, what are the benefits to both parents and children and how it can be practiced. Techniques and resources on practicing mindful awareness within family dynamics will be provided.
Learn how:
- parents can support their children through mindful parenting techniques.
- mindfulness can support the well-being of families
- practicing mindfulness at home can support students in school
Grants for School Councils
Since March 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Education has been providing funding to school councils and regional parent groups to encourage parent involvement. Individual school councils have access to Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) grants which is explained in the section below.
Please fill out the form below if you wish to be kept informed of when the applications for the School Council Grants are open, and if you wish to chat with us about an idea for your submission. We would be pleased to help.
PIC Grants
Each school council receives $500 to assist with parent communication and other parent engagement efforts. Schools with both an intermediate (Grades 7-8) and secondary (Grades 9-11) stream receives $500 for each, for a total of $1,000.
The Ministry provides this money to the school board, which in turn works with the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) to distribute the funds through budget allocations provided to each school administration. The School Council should collaboratively decide how the money is to be spent. All funds are to be spent on activities that support or enhance parental involvement, parental engagement, in-person and virtually, or on improved communication between the school and home.
Some ideas for spending this Parent Involvement funding that support Mindfulness include:
- Guest speaker for parent mindfulness workshops; pooling of funds from multiple schools is an option and encouraged. *
- Translation services or interpreters for parent resources, events and interviews.
- Parent resource library (ie: books and electronic resources).
Mindfulness Everyday, as a long-time partner with the TDSB, and an approved vendor with TCDSB, YRDSB, YRCSB, is experienced at providing workshops that focus on supporting student well-being at school and supporting parents and care-givers with authentic, practical skills and strategies that are of benefit to their families at home.
School Councils may submit one request for support up to $1,500 to support innovative (the development of new ideas) projects/activities that engages parents/caregivers (in-person, virtual and hybrid) and builds School Councils’ parents/caregivers/guardians capability around:
- Anti-Black racism
- Anti-Indigenous racism
- Anti-racism
- Equity/anti-oppression
- Food sovereignty
- Human Rights
- Mental health and well-being
- Creating safe spaces of belonging (tackling bullying and violence)
- Engaging parents/caregivers in early literacy and numeracy
To learn more about the grant thematic areas, please visit the FAQ tab.
School Councils may collaborate and submit one application; however, allocation will remain at a maximum of $1,500 per school. NOTE: Collaborative projects must submit one application, however, please ensure the following criteria are provided:
- The contact information provided in the application is the lead School Council of the project
- The roles and responsibilities of each School Council in the collaborative project must be provided in the project description
- The amount requested by each school for their part in the collaborative project must be provided in the project description (maximum $1500)
- Funds awarded will be deposited in the lead School Council’s Cc #xxxx0565 and GL #41500 account.
- Responsibility of all collaborating School Councils to submit all invoices for reimbursement to the lead School Council no later than May 31, 2024
Eligibility
Projects/Initiatives will be required to:
- Demonstrate a commitment to respecting the role of all parents/caregivers in students’ educational experiences by addressing, racism anti-Black racism and anti-indigenous racism and centering the voices of racialized parents/caregivers, and elders
- Provide spaces for the voices of racialized parents/caregivers, to address issues of equity anti-oppression, and human rights
- Create a sense of belonging within the school environment by acknowledging and valuing parents/caregivers’ identities and assets, ensuring their representation and reflection in all spaces, activities, and the building
- Respect parents/caregivers as co-collaborators with teachers by ensuring their identities are embedded in the curriculum
- Contribute to raising awareness around local food production, and building skills around planting, growing, harvesting, budgeting and distribution in a way that is sustainable in the long term
- Increase affordable local food system control, including access to fresh and healthy food
- Demonstrating a clear and measurable impact on improving mental health outcomes
- Engaging parents and caregivers in early literacy and numeracy
- Establishing safe and inclusive environments where individuals feel a sense of belonging and are empowered to prevent and address bullying and violence
- Projects must be completed between November 20, 2023 – May 31, 2025