Students and staff at St. Theresa School were treated to a day of learning and exploring yesterday, with special guests from Camp Olympia Hero Program organizing special activities and workshops throughout the day.
The Camp Olympia Hero Program is designed to take students on a journey of self-discovery by exploring the 12 elements of a hero’s journey says a news release.
“The philosophy behind this kind of exploratory learning is that students develop a better understanding of themselves so when they enter stressful or challenging situations in the future, they have a language to describe their emotions and tools to get them through,” says Lori Schlueting, Vice Principal at St. Theresa School.
“This is a special opportunity for students to have some fun, while learning some very practical life skills,” she adds.
Throughout the day, students were able to participate in a series of activities and workshops including scavenger hunts, improvisation games, minute to win it activities and more. The activities were designed to address several key themes, including learning how to self-regulate energy and emotions, learning heartmath, developing heroship life skills and utilizing heroship practices.
“When students graduate from elementary school and later on when they graduate from high school, it is important for them to have spent some time building resiliency and understanding how to self-regulate in times of stress,” says Trish Tessier, Mental Health Lead at Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. “Days like this offer students an entry point into learning how to build these essential life skills so they can go on to become contributing members of society and lead a positive and healthy life.”
Submitted photo left to right: Micheline Lamarche (Principal), Lori Schlueting (Vice Principal, , Kathleen Palmieri, Anna Walton and Skylar Shepstone and Martin Paul (Camp Olympia Hero Program Coordinator)
