SWOVA is undergoing a transformation process which will help us to align more closely with our newly updated mission statement. Thank you for your input in helping us choose a new name for our organization and for our new program that is being delivered this school year. The results of the survey are currently being analysed by a group undertaking a Master of Management degree at the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at UBC. Stay Tuned for the results!
Salt Spring Island does not have a lot of facilities to accommodate young people, but we do have The Core (Inn) on McPhilipps Avenue. It is a safe place where island youth can come together to hang out, play music and games, and where snacks and healthy food are...
Valeskca San Martin, a French immersion teacher at Salt Spring Elementary, has had the Respect Program – former Respectful Relationships - in her classroom for almost a decade. She sees social-emotional learning as an essential addition to the academics that are...
Identifying and questioning stereotypes, bias, and prejudice has been part of our educational programs since we started to develop our social-emotional learning framework for kids and youth twenty-five years ago. It turns out that stereotypes start to take form in our...
Olivia Sugden is this year’s recipient of The Circle Education Pass It On Mentorship Award. Olivia has been part of the Pass it On Girls program for the past three years. She was wholeheartedly committed to the program and its participants, and with her warm, open and...
May 7th is National Child & Youth Mental Health Day. Willie MacPherson was impacted by mental health problems throughout his youth. He was addicted to sugar, video games, and drugs, but found healing. He shares the lessons he learned on the way. Talk Talking about...
Grade 11 students of the Gulf Island Secondary School are attending a P.A.R.T.Y. this week. No, it is not what you think, this is a different party. This party is to Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth. It’s about raising awareness and learning through...
Adele Mark arrived as a newcomer in this community at age 15. She had never been to a high school party before, but it didn’t take long for that to change. For this blog she sat down with Ruby and Sam, two recent graduates of Gulf Island Secondary School to hear their...
The Circle Education’s Pass it On Girls Program has been running for more than ten years. Facilitator Kate Nash has created a safe space where young girls talk about topics like identity, body image, relationships and consent. The program helped Mia Oliveira (now 19)...