Back-to-School We Go!

Start2Finish is dedicated to continuing to provide ongoing support for the marginalized children we serve. In light of the governments’ announcements about re-opening schools in certain provinces, here is our plan for resuming and enhancing our vital programming this fall:

  • We plan to resume in-person programs in regions where it is allowed. Recommendations from SickKids and other health experts have addressed concerns about the mental health and wellness of our nation’s children and the need for them to be back in safe, familiar social environments like schools.

  • The health and safety of our children is critical, so we will have enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols in place in alignment with school policies and procedures.

  • We will maximize outdoor activity time to ensure appropriate social distancing and reduce risks around close indoor physical contact.

  • We are exploring cohorting children in the program, parallel to the schools’ cohorting plans.

  • We are in discussions around securing appropriate masks for physical activity.

  • Where schools do not resume regular programming or where they operate a blended model of classroom and online learning, we have developed a hybrid of virtual and in-person program delivery and mentorship.

Sport is suited to improve mental health and help in the healing process after an experience like COVID-19. Embedded in the Running & Reading Club program is relationships with trusted Coaches, repetitive and patterned activities that are key to making children feel safe, and a model that builds vital social/emotional agencies like motivation, resilience and self-efficacy that will equip children to respond to this and future challenges. The one-on-one and small group literacy and reading time will also create a safe space for children to explore various topics, develop a social emotional learning process, and ask important questions.

Start2Finish believes in creating caring communities and collaborating with partners in various sectors including health and wellbeing, mental health, education, housing, business, community leaders, etc. We need each other and this network of support in order to help children navigate this pandemic and come out of it thriving.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the land on which we work, and which Start2Finish operates, is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples inhabited and cared for this land. In particular, we acknowledge the territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Ojibway/Chippewa peoples; the land that is home to the Metis; and most recently, the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation who are direct descendants of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land, and by doing so, give our respect to its first inhabitants.

We welcome you to acknowledge the land you are on https://www.whose.land/fr/

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