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Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Public School Division
Community

GPPSD Education Foundation receives $34,150 grant to support student health and wellness

Dec 16, 2020 | 5:17 AM

The Grande Prairie Public School Division (GPPSD) Education Foundation has been given a $34,150 grant from the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta from the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) to support student health and wellness.

The money will help provide training and professional development for teachers and school administrators in order to support the social, emotional, and mental well-being of students.

According to Nancy Gorgichuk, the Director of Inclusive Learning for the Grande Prairie Public School Division, getting funding for initiatives to support students’ social-emotional learning really became apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we surveyed our families as they were coming back this fall, we were wondering what is the impact this event is having on your families. We (staff and students) did learn that it certainly had an impact.”

Gorgichuk added that in previous years, several schools throughout the division had already been practicing social-emotional learning initiatives.

The plan this time around is to expand the program and make social-emotional learning a common practice in schools throughout the GPPSD.

“This will help the administrators build their plan, so they can support the teachers, who then, in turn, can support the students. It doesn’t matter what school a child in our community goes to, they will know that their teacher and principal at their school is improving on this for them.”

Gorgichuk says that even once the COVID-19 pandemic ends, and things are back to a greater sense of normal, this program will continue throughout Grande Prairie Public Schools as it is essential for human development.