February 2019 PD Day

Know Before You Go is a resource created for grade 12 students as they begin the transition out of high school and into post-secondary studies and/or employment. It is a life skills resource which focuses on assisting readers with anticipating, identifying, and navigating situations they may encounter as they gain more independence. It covers information on basic life skills such as paying bills, making medical appointments, developing study skills, as well as provides opportunity to reflect upon one’s identity and develop skills to support healthy relationships with others. The focus of the text is to develop and support these life skills, so that when you encounter hardship, you are better prepared to support yourself and others. In the summer of 2017, a small group of B.Ed. students was funded to take the text and turn it into a board game. Our work with the board game has continued in the time since, and we have created a solid mental health literacy resource with easy classroom application. We invite you to come explore mental health literacy, all through the magic of a board game. KBYG was develop and written by Dr. Stan Kutcher and his team at TeenMentalHealth.org.

Cat and Olivia are recent graduates of the B.Ed. program (2018) with specializations in English and Social Studies. Olivia is currently working as a substitute teacher in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Cat is currently working as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Employment Innovation (St. F.X. Extension Dept.), supporting projects related to employment outcomes for youth.