Now in its fifth year, the event brings together students, community partners and district staff for a day of conversations, presentations and performances designed to empower and encourage students.
"It was a wonderful event that could not have happened if it weren't for Fraser Health, Surrey Schools staff and our community partners all coming together," said Daniel To, district principal for education services and specialty programs with Surrey Schools.
The day included community partners showcasing the mental health and wellness resources available to students locally, a performance by Resilient Rhythms using drumming as a means to build social and emotional resilience, and a keynote talk by Grade 10 Panorama Ridge Secondary student Aminullah Shirazi, who also recently spoke at TED X Surrey.
There were also numerous information booths for students to explore additional resources and services.
Thanks to events like these, To said he's noticed students' willingness to discuss mental health and wellness has improved in recent years, especially since the pandemic.
"I believe the stigma is starting to fade away, so much so that this year we have a Grade 10 student who was able to talk about his vulnerabilities in front of a group of his peers," To said. "There's a stereotype, especially for boys, that you're not supposed to talk about your emotions or how you're feeling, but the fact that he was able to do that was really cool and showed the rest of the students that it's okay to just be open about these sorts of things."
He said youth today have a lot of external stressors that may contribute to heightened levels of stress and social pressures that previous generations didn't experience.
"Kids are very impressionable and when they're seeing trends on things like TikTok, celebrities showing them how to look or act or even becoming anxious about how many likes or views their own posts get, we have to educate them on how to process those feelings and how build resilience to that," he explained.
"Events like these help them know that they're not alone and that these are things everyone is facing together."
To learn more about mental health and wellness in Surrey Schools, explore our Mental Health Matters series here.
