Rideau Vista Public School Makes Student & Family Wellness a Priority!

(left to right) Rideau Vista Public School Principal Nancy Holman, Grade 5/6 students Ellie Stoodley and Aubrey Bles, School Council member Rebekah Hambley, and teacher Lisa Lemieux-Beaudoin. Photo credit: Tanya Hammond

For Principal Nancy Holman, a longtime Rideau Ferry resident, “becoming the principal for Rideau Vista Public School is like coming home.” And it is at ‘home’ at Rideau Vista that Principal Holman strives to ensure all students feel included, connected and seen.

The welcoming atmosphere when talking with Principal Holman, teacher Lisa Lemieux-Beaudoin, and School Council member Rebekah Hambley was one of caring and concern for the well-being of the entire student body, including their families. Thus, it makes perfect sense that the school council, the school and the community are partnering to host a much-anticipated Wellness Fair on April 9, 2026, at Rideau Vista Public School.

The Wellness Fair is free and designed for parents, kids, grandparents, legal guardians and anyone involved in a child’s life, whether they attend Rideau Vista or another neighbouring school. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 p.m., when keynote speaker Lisa Livingston, the mental health lead for the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), will deliver a 15-minute presentation to launch the evening event.

Interactive wellness stations featuring a variety of community partners and groups sharing information and resources related to health and well-being, set up throughout the school, will offer ample opportunities for visitors to learn about community resources, healthy habits and “discover fun ways to support your family’s well-being.”

Guests will be provided with a passport-style card that can be stamped at the individual wellness stations and handed in at the end of the evening for a chance to win a special wellness prize package.

Each child who attends will be given a goodie bag filled with items that further promote healthy living, such as a pack of seeds to encourage outdoor gardening, a stress ball and fidget item to help soothe stress and anxiety or support focus, glow sticks for evening outdoor fun, and more. The goodie pack will also include contact information for each community organization featured at the Wellness Fair.

Principal Holman says she feels it is important for parents and caregivers to walk away with useful, evidence-based resources, as well as usable activities and items for the kids. The Wellness Fair is made possible by a Parents Reaching Out Grant (PRO Grant) that the school council and school staff successfully applied for from the Ministry of Education. The school council has shifted, says Rebekah, from just one member last year to a group of 10 this year, all equally committed to promoting physical, emotional and mental health at the school and within their school community.

Rebekah, a parent of three, two of whom are students at Rideau Vista, moved back to the Westport area, her hometown, after living in Ottawa. She has been an instrumental addition to the school council, taking on many design and organizational tasks as part of the promotion and planning for the upcoming Wellness Fair.

Students at the school have also been preparing for the event, during which some junior students will set up student-led stations promoting healthy habits and positive well-being.

Well-being is a common theme throughout the school’s everyday lessons, as exemplified by some Grade 5/6 students who are using school mental health books to read to the Grade 3/4 class.

The location of the rural school, with a recess yard overlooking a World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal, lends itself well to teaching students the health benefits of being outdoors, says Principal Holman. Students also have the opportunity to attend field trips with their classes to nearby Foley Mountain, where they learn through adapted Forest School programs.

More learning outdoors is most definitely a vision that Principal Holman embraces, as is the importance of community connection, which she and Principal Renaud at St. Edward Catholic School down the street also wholeheartedly share. The two principals, along with their staff and students, have shared in sporting events, including soccer, volleyball and, most recently, a ski trip.

Students and their parents from St. Edward are also welcome to attend the Wellness Fair at Rideau Vista on April 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event, focused on practical, hands-on learning, promises to be fun in a relaxed and accepting atmosphere, an environment that Rideau Vista staff and the school council encourage throughout the school year for the students and their families, because caring for well-being is at the centre of all they do.