Mental Health & Well-Being


At DSBN, we believe that mental health and well-being play a critical role in student success. Partnering with families and community agencies to help support and empower our students and address their mental health needs is one of the most impactful things we can do to help provide a learning environment where everyone can learn, grow and achieve.

Our vision for the mental health climate at all of our DSBN schools is to create an environment where:

  • School staff works together with parents, mental health partners and other schools to become stronger together by sharing responsibilities and resources
  • Staff serve as mental health and well-being partners in the classroom and work with families and community agencies to mobilize support and access to service
  • Students understand and respect mental health and well-being and feel comfortable advocating for their own needs
  • Family members are empowered to support the mental health and well-being of their children
  • The voices of students, staff, parents and community partners contribute to an on-going mental health conservation that builds understanding

There is growing discussion about mental health in Ontario and the way we talk about it matters. This video by the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre explains the separate but interconnected concepts of mental health and mental illness, as well as what it means to ‘promote mental health’, in ourselves and in our communities.