Managing Anxiety and Building Resilience

3/27/2018

Allan Hardy, Principal

I want to thank those parents who were able to attend last week’s evening session with Dr. Alex Russell. Dr. Russell emphasized that parents play a key role in helping their children manage anxiety and build resilience.

One of the ways we can help children build “adaptive anxiety” (Russell defines this as the ability to make good decisions in new or negative situations) is by using real situations as opportunities to place events into proper perspective.

For example, on Monday, Division 53 of the Toronto Police Services issued a crime alert to schools located within a 1 km radius of Yonge and Eglinton, which indicated that in recent months there had been an increase in “swarming-type robberies involving teenagers.” Some parents shared this message with me, as well as a list of street-proofing tips prepared by the Ontario Principals’ Council . It would be helpful if you discussed this situation with your children, as like you, we want all of our students to be safe.

Teaching teenagers to be vigilant with their personal property and of their surroundings, and to avoid being overly ostentatious when out in public is good common sense when travelling in and outside of Toronto.

In speaking with your children, it might also be worth noting despite this crime alert and other prominent violent crimes that have happened recently in the city, statistically, Toronto is one of Canada’s safest major cities, as crime rates have declined over the past 30 years. However, the 24/7 news cycle and the proliferation of social media may lead people to believe that the world is an unsafe place, which can intensify feelings of anxiety among parents and children.

Back

Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811

We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and as settlers, we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.