Student Senate hosts Stand Up for Positivity Conference on March 21

Rainbow District School Board’s Student Senate will host a Stand Up for Positivity Conference on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Students from all secondary schools will participate in the full-day event, which will take place at the Centre for Education, 408 Wembley Drive in Sudbury.

The conference will build on the results of a Students as Researchers Project completed in the current school year. “In our research, we discovered that approximately 64 per cent of students had a negative experience because of their physical appearance,” said Student Trustee Hannah Golden.

“The goal of the conference is to develop Youth Positivity Champions in every secondary school,” she added. “This initiative will contribute to school cultures focused on wellness, where students help each other and those experiencing stress can access peers for support.”

Kenneth Lander will deliver the keynote address on “The Power of Positivity” at 9:45 am. A Master of Social Work student at Laurentian University’s School of Social Work, Kenneth Lander graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Social Work from Laurentian University in October 2018. He is part of Dr. Diana Coholic’s Holistic Arts-Based Program that teaches mindfulness concepts in a fun and creative way. Kenneth Lander is a recent recipient of the Dr. Dan Andreae Living in Healthy Communities Award.

Student senators Sophie Tomlin, Raksheen Khan, Colleen Gauvreau and Hannah Golden will speak throughout the day, adding their voices to the conversation and encouraging dialogue among participants. The Rainbow District School Board’s Mental Health team will lead activities focused on acceptance, resiliency and mindfulness. The day will culminate with the sharing of ideas by schools. Public Health Sudbury & Districts will also be on site.

Rainbow District School Board thanks the Ministry of Education for supporting this student leadership conference through a Stand Up Speak Out Grant.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 674-3171, ext. 7217.