Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School is one of the hundreds of schools across the country that will be participating in a national drug and alcohol survey.
MEMSS is also the only school in Coast Mountain School District that will be participating in the 2018/2019 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), which is funded by Health Canada.
The survey, which is administered by the University of Waterloo, is designed to gather details about health and behaviours among youth from grades 7 to 12.
CSTADS, which has been conducted since 1994, provides participating schools with a school-specific 20-page School Health Profile which can be used to inform policy and program decisions, outlining key results and suggested actions the school may take.
The report also provides a one-page summary that can be shared with the school community and the results of the survey will only be reported in group form.
“The survey provides valuable information regarding the health and lifestyle of our students. This further informs our curriculum focuses and supports provided in schools,” said CMSD superintendent of schools Katherine McIntosh.
If the student wishes to participate and parents have given consent, the survey is completed in class with a teacher supervising.
The survey takes students up to 40 minutes to complete and asks students questions about tobacco, alcohol and drug use, bullying and sleep.
A copy of the survey questionnaire will be available for parents to view in the school’s main office, or at www.cstads.ca.