Movement, proper sleep crucial for brain health

Winter in Winnipeg has a way of forcing us indoors.

Short days. Long nights. More sitting. More screens. Less movement. More “I’ll get back on track in spring.”

That seasonal slowdown doesn’t just stiffen joints and pad waistlines. It quietly affects the brain, too.

When most people think about Alzheimer’s or dementia, they picture something that shows up late in life — 70s, 80s, maybe a parent or grandparent.

Elmwood students’ clothing venture instils pride, breaks down stereotypes in blue-collar neighbourhood

Xander Woodley is spending his fourth period filling orders.

The Grade 12 Elmwood High School student pulls a blank sweatshirt from the supply closet and double-checks the customer’s purchase: one double-extra-large GPS Crewneck in navy.

He walks over to the heat press at the back of the graphics lab and flips through a stack of transfer sheets to find the correct design.

“It’s a map of our community of Elmwood; these are all of the streets, as well as the Red River and co-ordinates of where we are,” Woodley says, pointing to the line-art rendition of the northeast Winnipeg neighbourhood, the ward boundaries of which run from McLeod Avenue to the Canadian Pacific mainline and from the eastern bank of the Red River to Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Canada’s university funding system is broken

For decades, Canadian universities have delivered a world-class education at a remarkably accessible cost. Nationally, Manitoba has among the lowest tuition fees in the country. However, like many universities across Canada, the University of Manitoba is facing a new reality that can no longer be ignored.

School nutrition program prompts student trash talk

One student’s trash has become another student’s research sample at Robertson School.

Arviat, Nunavut chosen as main campus location for Inuit Nunangat University

OTTAWA - The main campus of the new Inuit Nunangat University will be located in Arviat, Nunavut, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed announced Wednesday.

The school also moved a step closer to being built with the announcement of a $50 million investment from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., and another $85 million through the Nunavut Agreement Implementation Contract.

The Mastercard Foundation previously committed $50 million toward the development of the university.

The university, expected to open in 2030, will be the first based in the North and the first in Canada operated by and for Inuit. It will be tasked with promoting Inuit language retention and revitalization and supporting economic and cultural opportunities in the region.

Parent group urges funds to help spot reading disabilities sooner

It may be too late for their children, but parents are appealing to school boards to fund teacher training to spot struggling readers sooner.

Caregiver Advocates for Literacy Equity is launching a new campaign this week, against the backdrop of I Love to Read Month.

The coalition represents dozens of families, many of whom have children with dyslexia. It is planning a series of presentations for trustees across Manitoba.

“The damage has been done to my son, sadly — we’re trying to propel things forward for him — but I just want to make a change for other kids,” said Allison Guercio, a mother of two in Winnipeg.

Sturgeon Heights students fight to keep backpacks in class

An iconic symbol of student life has become embroiled in controversy at a Winnipeg high school.

Sturgeon Heights Collegiate announced a change in protocols last week, banning backpacks from classrooms in an effort to limit clutter.

School administration issued a bulletin informing students they’d be required to store their bags and coats in their lockers from now on.

Calling it a “backpack ban,” teenagers are lamenting the rules they say are upending routines and making them late for classes.

Full-day kindergarten returning to city’s largest school division in the fall

Manitoba’s largest school division is bringing back full day, every day kindergarten in the fall.

Four years after scaling back early years options, the Winnipeg School Division — now under new leadership — has confirmed the U-turn.

Chief superintendent Matt Henderson said he’s “not convinced” an internal study used to justify cuts in 2022 was afforded the time or energy it required to be conclusive.

The results zoned in on academics rather than holistic benefits, such as how full-time instruction builds a young student’s confidence and gives parents more flexibility to work, he said.

Building up engineers: RRC Polytech, U of M celebrate collaboration

The University of Manitoba and Red River College Polytechnic are making it easier for engineering technologists to earn a degree.

City rejects one-minute school-zone limit

The City of Winnipeg won’t try to impose a one-minute time limit for school drop-offs and pickups.

Council’s public works committee opted to take no action on the idea Wednesday, which would have directed city staff to develop a “Stop, Drop and Go” program with the strict time limit at elementary schools. The vote is final.

The committee’s chairwoman predicted the tight time limit would be tough to follow.

“I don’t think it’s feasible… I had three kids. Kicking them out in one minute is not going to happen,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West).

Teen newcomers hope powerful poem opens minds

Escaping Syria as a child, Fawwaz (Ali) Al Hassan knows a thing or two about global conflict.

“I’ve gone through war, genocide, poverty, myself firsthand, and I know how bad and terrible it is for anyone, not just for people of my kind, but anyone across the world,” the 17 year old who immigrated to Canada 10 years ago said.

The Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute student co-wrote the spoken-word poem What We’re Meant to Be, along with Sami Suliman, 16, and Tobilola (Tobi) Olorunsola, 17. The trio recited it Monday at the Manitoba legislature as part of the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation’s international development week.

The teens, all newcomers to Canada, brought their own personal experiences to the poem, a journey across the globe.

Beloved drop-in centre remains a haven for youth after 50 years

Some children are never given the foundational tools at home to ease their way into this world. For a long list of complex reasons, home is not always a haven. And it’s not assured to be a safe place for kids.

But there is a building at the corner of Ross and Sherbrook that serves as both a home and a refuge, where young people find safety, acceptance and love, 365 days a year, anytime, all the time.

“I wouldn’t be alive today if it hadn’t been for Rossbrook House,” is an often-repeated phrase.

In 1976, Sister Geraldine MacNamara (Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary), with the help of other sisters and a group of young men from Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood, founded Rossbrook House as an alternative to the streets.

Children’s Museum forced to tighten financial belt, fundraise

The Children’s Museum is a home away from home for the Maes family.

“We come all the time,” says mom Rachel Maes, while watching four of her six kids explore the centre’s toddler zone on a cold Monday afternoon.

“We’re a Métis family, so we can come for free, which is amazing.”

The young family visits the colourful museum at The Forks several times a month during the depths of winter, but that may soon change.

Quebec civility rules won’t be adopted in Manitoba schools

Manitoba teachers are embracing the freedom to be called whatever they’d like at work while their colleagues elsewhere in Canada adjust to new civility rules.

Starting this month, Quebec has begun requiring students of all ages to address teachers as “Mr.” or “Ms.”

The new rules aim to foster civility and renew a culture of respect in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classrooms in that province.

Manitoba has no plans to follow suit — much to the relief of Winnipeg teachers who’ve become accustomed to informal titles.

Future students will be wired differently, thanks to AI

Teachers were urged to stop asking children what they want to be when they grow up and focus on building creative, self-directed and critical thinkers at Manitoba’s AI in Education Summit.

“How do we prepare kids for a future we can’t yet see, but we know it’s going to be radically transformed by technology?” futurist Sinead Bovell asked a crowd of educators at a first-of-its-kind conference Friday.

“That is the moment that we are in.”

The province invited Bovell, founder of tech education company WAYE, to share her predictions about artificial intelligence and related advice for schools.

Storybook ending for student warming hut winners

Manitoba’s newest student-designed warming hut doubles as a public awareness campaign for a child advocacy centre.

Donning the vest: Young crossing guards take up safety tradition

Georgia Donachuk and the rest of her all-girls squad have given up their lunch hour for the greater good.

Equipped with flags, vests and, at this time of year, lots of layers, five girls can be found scanning the perimeter of Isaac Brock School on weekdays.

What motivates them to clock in daily for the 12:30 p.m. shift, even when it’s -25 C?

“I like keeping people safe when they cross the street,” Georgia, 10, said after shedding her CAA vest and hanging it on a hook in her school’s front lobby on a recent weekday. “Also, every time we go out, we see a cat!”

Ribbon Skirt Day leader reflects on changes since her cultural attire was shamed

In Isabella Kulak's home is a box of about a few hundred letters, notes and hand-drawn pictures of ribbon skirts sent to her from across Canada and beyond — fan mail from those who consider her story and the origins of "Ribbon Skirt Day" as inspirational.

"I have like a whole notebook of letters, a whole stack of drawings from all these schools and it makes me feel so happy and it warms my heart," said Isabella, a shy 15-year-old, on a phone call from her home in Kamsack, Sask., located about 270 kilometres east of Regina.

"I do want to eventually write back to them, but I am really busy with school."

After all, the Anishinaabe girl is still a teenager. This past week, she had a volleyball tournament. These next few months, she will be completing Grade 10 and the next big step is on the path to medical school, she said.

Family from the Democratic Republic of Congo navigates chilly firsts alongside IRCOM supports

All Clever Ganza wants to do this winter is build a snowman.

He’s not yet had the chance, as it hasn’t been the right kind of snow — although to the eight-year-old, all snow is snow.

It’s his second winter in Winnipeg after arriving in Canada with his parents and younger brother Travor, 5, in December 2024.

Clever has acclimatized pretty quickly.

Why I expelled AI from the classroom

Artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly in vogue these days. Within post-secondary institutions, it is rapidly reshaping the pedagogical landscape. Some academics maintain that AI enriches the student learning experience, whereas others believe it enhances critical thinking.

Beleaguered parents of young children with diabetes ask province for help in schools

Parents of children in elementary school with Type 1 diabetes pleaded for help from the province Tuesday at the legislature.

Two mothers — one who has to leave her job at lunch, the other who had to quit her job altogether — in order to get to their children’s schools in time to make insulin-pump adjustments say other provinces, including B.C. and Nova Scotia, have trained school staff to help.

“It’s heartbreaking to have to gauge whether or not I can maintain my livelihood or my child’s health care,” said Christy Peterson, whose five-year-old daughter Lillian is on an insulin pump.

The pumps support better blood-glucose management, help reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications and their use results in fewer insulin injections.