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COMMUNITY EDUCATION SERVICE
October 2025
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OPEN HERE for optimal viewing
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Supporting Student Well-Being:
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A Collaborative Webinar Series for Families and Caregivers
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Throughout October, CES, in proud partnership with the Calgary Board of Education, invites you to the Child & Youth Well-Being Family & Caregiver Series.
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Together, CES and CBE are launching educational initiatives designed to foster environments where children, youth, and their families feel supported and empowered. In today’s world, many students are navigating complex mental health challenges - including emotional dysregulation, stress, and anxiety.
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This curated series of webinars below aims to equip parents and caregivers with practical tools, insights, and strategies to nurture well-being, build resilience, and help young people thrive - both in school and beyond.
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CES presentations are FREE
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They qualify as Cat B learning credits
Not all presentations are recorded or include handouts
Attendance certificates are always emailed within 3 days
Have a topic you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you! Send your suggestions to ces@recoveryalberta.ca.
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Through your participation, you agree that you will not save content, record content, share, or post photos from any presentation without prior permission. Doing so will result in you being removed from the session.
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At the P.A.I.N.S Lab, we focus on pediatric pain, anesthesia, imaging, and neurodevelopmental science.
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Led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Jillian Miller, the P.A.I.N.S lab uses state-of-the-art neuroimaging and experimental techniques to understand the effects of pain and anesthesia on the developing brain.
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If you missed it, check out this week's episode of Parents of the Year where my husband and I talk about all things parenting. (Warning: I cry a lot on this podcast!) Listen in on your favourite podcast channel!
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The Resilience Scale: A Tool for change
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Resilience is the ability to adapt and remain healthy in the face of adversity and can be strengthened or weakened over time in response to our experiences.
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The Resilience Scale tool developed by the Palix Foundation (Alberta Family Wellness Initiative) helps to illustrate how three factors interact to determine resilience: adversities, positive supports, and acquired skills and abilities.
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Monday Oct 6
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Digital Dilemma: Screens, Social Media, and Gaming
Health Promotion Facilitators, Community Health Promotion Services (CHPS), Recovery Alberta
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Screens are everywhere - how is this affecting our kids?
• Learn how social media, gaming, and screen time impact youth mental health and relationships.
• Get simple tips to help your child build healthy screen habits and stay emotionally well.
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Tuesday Oct 7
1 - 3 pm
Is Your Child Struggling at School? It May Be Time for a Psychoeducational Assessment
Tanya Keto (MEd), Co-Clinic Director AVERY Family and School Psychology Services Registered Psychologist
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Psychoeducational assessments combine standardized assessments of a child’s intellectual and academic abilities and behavioural rating scales with the dynamic clinical judgment of a trained psychologist to determine the what, how, and why of struggling students. This process measures overall aptitude and academic achievement in core academic skills, as well as any additional factors that may impact a child's performance at school (e.g., attention and concentration, learning disabilities, mood, anxiety, etc.), and provides strategies to support them.
Whether a diagnosis is made or not, the information can be used to identify what the student needs to reach their potential. This session will take a deep dive into what teachers need to know about the psychoeducational process including:
• The psychological processes that underlie learning to read, write, and do math
• The specific academic skills being investigated including reading, writing, math, language, etc.
• Aspects of social/emotional and behavioural functioning that may be impacting the student, including attention and concentration, depression, anxiety, etc.
• The diagnostic process
• Recommendations, strategies, and accommodations
• Using the psychoeducational assessment report for Individual Education/Program Planning (IPPs, IEPs, etc.)
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Wednesday Oct 8
11:30 - 1 pm
Level Up: Exploring the Impacts of Gaming on Adolescent Learning and Cognition
Stephen Sills, Registered Psychologist
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A presentation about benefits and consequences associated with playing video games during adolescence. We will cover some of the recent scientific literature and recommendations for helping adolescents navigate this ever-expanding genre of entertainment and socialization.
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Wednesday Oct 15
11 - 12:30 pm
Mental Health & Youth
Health Promotion Facilitators, Community Health Promotion Services (CHPS), Recovery Alberta
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It is normal for children and youth to experience various types of emotional distress as they develop and mature. To promote positive mental health, it is important to be aware of mental illnesses, recognize signs, engage in meaningful conversations, and support a balanced life. This presentation will support you in gaining a greater understanding of mental health and reflect on how you can support the young people in your life.
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Monday Oct 20
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Cyber Safety
Adriana Dewar, B.A., M.A., Community Outreach Coordinator, YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre
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Are you and your family cyber-safe?
In today's interconnected world, the internet and social media have revolutionized the way we connect and learn. However, with limited oversight, these digital realms also pose potential risks such as privacy breaches, cyberbullying, sextortion, and criminal activities.
YouthLink Calgary presents an essential program designed to empower parents and guardians with the tools needed to ensure your family's online safety.
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Tuesday Oct 21
2 - 3:30 pm
ADHD is Awesome!
Dr. Caroline Buzanko PhD, Registered Psychologist
Clinical Director, Koru Family Psychology
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ADHD is often thought of in terms of its symptoms and associated problems. Unfortunately, a deficit-based approach, focusing on what is wrong, can be very impairing for children and their families. However, there are so many positive qualities of ADHD that need to be celebrated! In this session, you will learn about what ADHD is, why it is awesome, and how to capitalize on its assets to promote long-term success.
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Wednesday Oct 22
1 - 3 pm
Executive Functioning Essentials for Parents
Tanya Keto (MEd), Registered Psychologist
Clinic Director of AVERY Family and School Psychology Services
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Executive Functioning (EF) refers to the behaviour management system of the brain. These cognitive processes tell us what to do, when to do it, and how well to do it. Individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD may experience increased difficulty in the development and use of these functions compared to their same-aged peers. When kids struggle to regulate their executive functioning it can result in lower grades, lack of motivation, school avoidance, social difficulties, anxiety and stress. But these “problem behaviours” are simply symptoms of unmet needs. Join Tanya to learn how difficulties with executive functioning could be causing problem behaviours and what you can do to help!
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Wednesday Oct 22
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Vaping: What’s Really Going On?
Health Promotion Facilitators, Community Health Promotion Services (CHPS), Recovery Alberta
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Youth vaping is increasing - let’s understand what they’re using and why.
• Learn about vaping devices, nicotine, cannabis, and the health risks.
• Discover how to have open, honest conversations with your teen about vaping.
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Wednesday Oct 29
6 - 8 pm
Stressed but Strong, Anxious but Awesome: Understanding your child's worries through a strength-based lens
Dr. Sterling Sparshu, MD, FRCPC, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
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Participants will:
- Understand the stress-anxiety spectrum in children and teens
- Recognize healthy vs problematic stress
- Learn how to respond to stress and anxiety through a strength-based lens
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Thursday Oct 30
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Navigating the Pressure to Perform: Benefits of Well-being Centered Identity Development for Children and Teens
Shelbi Snodgrass, MC, RCC, CCC, CMPC, Registered Clinical Counsellor, Snodgrass & Duff Performance Consulting and Counselling Inc.
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The pressure to perform is increasingly impacting children and teen’s ability to cope, negatively impacting their confidence and sense of self. From navigating school pressures, friendships, after school curricular activities, and an ever-evolving political climate, the need for well-being focused values are more critical than ever.
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the pressure to perform influencing children and teens
- Identify vulnerabilities to and indicators of low confidence and self-esteem
- Reflect on the language, behaviours, and environments that help or hinder healthy identity development
- Explore dimensions of well-being and their benefits to identify development and confidence
- Review contributing factors to safe and accountable performance environments
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Researchers at the P.A.I.N.S lab located at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary want to understand how the brain responds to pain RESEARCH IS ALWAYS VOLUNTARY!This study might be a good fit for you if:- you are between the ages of 14 to 18 years- you are healthy and fluent in English.
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Contact: Dr. Jillian Miller at 403-955-5768 or info@painslab.ca
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Community Health Promotion Services (CHPS) aims to prevent and reduce harms related to substance misuse and mental health disorders by maximizing the well-being of children, adolescents and families. Our team works in the Calgary Zone as a part of Recovery Alberta's Child & Adolescent Addiction, Mental Health & Psychiatry Programs (CAAMHPP).
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