Self Regulation

The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is committed to excellence in learning and living in Christ. Our calling as Catholic educators implores us to support students in reaching their God-given potential. To reach their potential, students and staff need to feel a sense of safety and belonging.

The BHNCDSB currently implements a variety of strategies and approaches to help create these safe, engaging and faith-filled learning environments that attempt to reduce stress and restore energy. Our work continues with the MindUp curriculum, using trauma-informed practices, and restorative approaches. Our Self-Reg plan is designed to consolidate and build on these practices.

The goal of self-regulation is to identify, understand and respond positively to the roots of many behaviours, emotions and social challenges that affect children and families. Shanker Self-Reg is a process that can help educators enhance their understanding of each learner’s strengths and needs and assists each of them with their own self-regulation by being able to identify their own stressors and the stressors of others, thereby helping them to manage stress.

In Self-Reg we consider both our triggers and responses to stress and our underlying states of energy and tension when we encounter a stressor.

Current research suggests that youth of today and adults are experiencing an exponential increase in the amount of daily stress, compared to even a decade ago. The impact of the global COVID-19 Pandemic has exacerbated these levels of stress. The BHNCDSB Self-Regulation Plan is designed to inspire a shared vision and a common district-wide approach for supporting students, staff and parents with mental wellness and stress management.

Our Self-Regulation Plan is based on Shankar Self-Reg and the work of the Mehrit Centre.

The plan provides education and strategies for staff to:

• increase their own ability to self-regulate
• maintain calm
• restore their own energy
• assist and support the students’ ability to find their own calm

Self Reg lays the foundation for staff and students to live out their gospel values and take ownership of each other’s wellbeing. As people of faith, hope and compassion, we look at people and ourselves with ‘soft eyes’. This shift in mindset helps us to see that some behaviour is ‘stress’ behaviour and not simply ‘mis’ behaviour. It causes pause for reflection and discernment to uncover “Why this behaviour, and why now?” This approach includes the provision of effective methods to support parents/caregivers on this journey as well.