Have fun, learn things, and be thankful that you are able to be a part of this new way of delivering the important messages Grow Kids is sending you this year!

Dear Grade 5 Teachers,

The Grow Boys and Go Girl Committees are excited to offer your grade 5 classes a virtual, Grow Kids event. On Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 all grade 5 students in Red Deer Public School District and Red Deer Catholic Regional School Division have the opportunity to participate in Grow Kids. With the support of both school divisions and the community, our committees have been able to collaboratively align our conference sessions to encompass the ideas of responsibility, respect, connection, relationship, movement, creativity, and positive well-being. Although we would have loved to join together in person for a more hands-on experience, we respect where we are as a community, and we are excited about this virtually interactive event.

We know teachers understand their students best, therefore there are multiple sessions being offered, allowing the teachers and students a choice based on interest. Once you open the Grow Kids website at growkids.ca, scroll to the bottom of the home page and you will find the links to the four main topics in which the sessions fall under: Positive Relationships, Being Creative, Being Active, and Caring For Self. We’re also offering an extended course on the “Four Directions” of HOPE. Click the Four Directions tab in the menu bar to explore that bonus!

The idea is to engage in at least 1-2 sessions in each category, exposing students to all areas. The sessions are 5-20 min, interactive videos led by an instructor that specializes in the topic. You can choose to do as many as you would like in the course of your day. Minimal materials are required for the sessions and do not exceed normal school supplies such as paper, pencils, space, pencil crayons, and so on. If there are sessions that do require specific supplies, they are noted in the session description. One advantage of a virtual conference is these sessions are accessible to you as teachers once the conference is over, allowing you to use the movement breaks, videos, and activities to your liking. You can access all of the videos and information on our website: growkids.ca . Please see the sample itinerary below for ideas of how to structure your day.

We are looking forward to the event and we hope this day will continue to help support our students to be happy and healthy. As we get closer to the event date, more information will be shared for you to plan your day, but please mark your calendars for May 18, 2022.

We would love to celebrate this event in our community. Please follow @growkids2022 on Instagram and @GrowKidsRD on Twitter! We encourage you to take pictures throughout the day, posting them to your school social media pages using the following Instagram handles:

• @growkids2022

• @rdcrs

• @reddeerpublicschools

• @yourschool

• #rdpsd, #rdcrd, #values, #respect, #understanding, #relationships, #responsibility, #character, #growkids22, #hope

Sample Itinerary...

Please modify based on the interests and needs of your students:

Introduction Session: Please watch the introductory video from our High School Mentors.

Morning: Mindfulness With Grow Kids (14:45min), YMCA Youth Boxing (13 min), Learning Life Skills Through Play (9:55min)

Movement Break (found in a link at the top of the Grow Kids Website)

High School Mentors Tips (found in a link at the top of the Grow Kids Website)

Recess Break

After Recess: Stress (5:20min), Body Weight Workout (19:08min), How to Make a Zine (6:22min), Fuel Your Body Jeopardy (14:22min), TaeKwonDo (13:57min)

Movement Break (found in a link at the top of the Grow Kids Website)

High School Mentors Tips (found in a link at the top of the Grow Kids Website)

Lunch Break

Afternoon: What Makes a Great Community Member (20min), Hip Hop Dancing (11:45min), Body Percussion (16:20min), Chair Workout (14:25min), Orienteering (7:50min), Guided Meditation (10:07min)

Grow Kids Closing Remarks

We look forward to the Grow Kids event on May 18, and we hope this day will continue to help support our students to be happy and healthy!

Sincerely,

Grow Boy & Go Girl Planning Committees