GECDSB and WHR team for health and wellness fair at North Star High School

North Star student Rylee Varney was the SHSM ambassador during last Thursday’s health and wellness fair.

An initiative held in partnership with the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) and Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) came to Amherstburg last week.

A Health & Wellness Fair was conducted at North Star High School last Thursday with Grade 7 students from North Star’s area feeder schools coming to the high school for it. The fair not only promoted health and wellness, but featured outside organizations such as the Windsor-Essex Bike Community (WEBC), The House Youth Centre and Yoga Effect giving presentations as well.

Kary Coulson, a student success teacher at North Star, said they worked with Silvana Nawalany, the board’s special teacher assignment regarding experiential learning, and Windsor Regional Hospital’s external recruitment co-ordinator Erin Hodgson on showing young students possible career paths.

Coulson pointed out the Grade 7 students can go home and discuss potential careers with their parents but they can also discuss the high school’s Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) and Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) opportunities. 

SHSM opportunities include programs involving arts and culture, business, health and wellness, transportation, environment, manufacturing, information and communications technology, justice and emergency services, and hospitality and tourism.

Grade 7 students rotated through various stations during the Health & Wellness Fair. Nawalany said it is the first year the GECDSB has teamed with WRH. She said one of the goals was to show students that hospitals have more career opportunities than just doctors and nurses. Career paths can include digital imaging, the business side of the hospital, human resources and much more.

Eric Favot gives a demonstration in the gymnasium.

Grade 7 students were the target audience because they have time to figure out what they want to do and what school programs they need to get there. There were six “rotations” that students went through during the fair, all dealing with health and wellness. 

The fair at North Star High School was the second one that was presented, the first being at Belle River District High School. Other fairs being presented this year are planned for Sandwich Secondary School in LaSalle and Tecumseh Vista Academy.

Nawalany added North Star teachers and administration were good to work with and the Health & Wellness Fair ran smoothly.

“Really, it all starts at the school level,” she said.

Hodgson said she gives presentations to the Grade 7 students to advise them of careers they can pursue. She said the presentation was to advise the younger students of the “breadth of opportunities in the healthcare industry.”

“The feedback so far has been positive,” said Hodgson. 

The fair is also a “game changer” for teachers and educators, who can now use the additional information to assist students.

“It’s a pilot program,” she said. “The hope is to expand it across other school boards.”

GECDSB and WHR team for health and wellness fair at North Star High School

By Ron Giofu