As the school year winds down and summer vacation begins, many Canadian children and teens will spend more time online, connecting with friends, gaming, scrolling social media, watching videos, and exploring new digital spaces. While technology can offer fun and opportunities for learning, it can also expose young people to cyberbullying, harassment, exploitation, and other forms of online violence. The summer months often bring less structure and supervision, making it an important time for parents and caregivers to have open conversations about online safety and digital well-being. Why Summer Increases Online Risks When school is out, screen time typically increases. Children may stay up later, spend more time on social media platforms, join new online communities, or interact with people they don't know in real life. This can increase exposure to cyberbullying, online harassment, sextortion, online luring, and other harmful behaviours. According to the RCMP, cyberbullying can occur through social...
Congratulations to the 2026 Teachers Life SPIRIT Award Winners! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PPyGLZvnfc At Teachers Life, we recognize that exceptional educators do far more than teach; they inspire, guide, and strengthen the communities around them. Each year, the Teachers Life SPIRIT Award celebrates individuals who exemplify selfless service, demonstrate outstanding dedication to students, and consistently make a meaningful impact within their schools and communities. We are thrilled to recognize and congratulate the 2026 SPIRIT Award Winners: Grant Chudyk from OSSTF District 9 – Essex and Iris Lee from OSSTF District 19 – Peel What is the SPIRIT Award? The Teachers Life SPIRIT Award was created to recognize educators who demonstrate: An unwavering commitment to the teaching profession A positive influence on students and staff Outstanding service to their school community Leadership that inspires, motivates, and uplifts A consistent drive to go above and beyond Each winner receives a $1,000 award and a commemorative plaque in recognition of their exceptional contributions. The awards are distributed annually to eligible Teachers Life group...
The Results are in and We Have a Winner Our Members are at the heart of everything we do. Our annual Member Satisfaction Survey helps us understand what matters most and where we can continue to grow. This year, we made the survey simpler and more focused, and the response was wonderful — more Members than ever took the time to share feedback. Thank you to all of our Members for helping us provide a better experience for you. The February 2026 survey shows strong satisfaction and continues to reinforce our commitment to our focus areas: Make it Easy Clear Communication Make it Comfortable Create Community and Support Youth A few highlights stood out this year. Our Flourish+ Member benefits program is clearly making an impression with Members reporting strong awareness and rating the program highly. And that speaks to the care we’ve put into building something that Members genuinely...
We’re excited to share that the second Press Start CoLab High School Program was an incredible success! Over seven weeks, eight teams of Ontario high school students came together with mentors and members of the education community to develop thoughtful, meaningful ideas for positive change. Watching these young people grow as thinkers, collaborators, and emerging leaders was nothing short of inspiring. About the Program The Press Start CoLab High School Program is built around a simple but powerful mission: young people are best positioned to understand and solve the mental health challenges facing youth. Our goal is to address mental health from an early age, from the perspective of students themselves, and to help create a path of least resistance for well-being that carries into adulthood. To give student participants a focused starting point, we curated three sub-focus areas for the teams to explore: de-stigmatizing mental health, building confidence and self-image, and creating safe spaces for connectedness. Each group selected at...
