• This program is for:

    Girls in grades 4-6.

  • Costs & Fees

    There is no cost for the school-based program.
    The Raising Girls Workshop series has a small fee. Please contact us for more information.

  • Location

    We come to selected schools and community organizations.

  • Hours & Availability

    Weekly sessions

  • How to Register

    Please contact our Youth Programs Team Lead

  • Contact Us

    Contact Us

What is Girls Program?

Girls Program is a school and community-based program for girls aged 8-13. Over 25 sessions, this program explores topics such as:

  • mental health
  • puberty
  • friendships/relationships
  • self-esteem
  • body image
  • media literacy

We run this program in elementary schools in Calgary and Southern Alberta. Schools are encouraged to offer the program in all three grades, but it can also be offered in a single grade (4, 5 or 6). We also provide similar programming in community settings for groups outside of schools.

The program’s ultimate goal is healthy bodies, healthy relationships, and healthy development. Each year of curriculum builds on the previous year. Our goal is for girls to find a sense of belonging and feel equipped to take on their next big journey into puberty and adolescence. The program is interactive, evidence-informed, age-appropriate and based on best practices.

Our facilitators deliver the program with fun and interactive activities over weekly sessions. We provide take-home activities to be completed with parents/caregivers that encourage conversations around family values and beliefs. We also offer educational parent workshops as part of the program.

Learn more in our FAQ.

Book Now

If you’re interested in booking a program, want to find out more or have questions, please email the Youth Programs Manager at lharrisson@centreforsexuality.ca.

Program Overview

This module focuses on personal identity, self-esteem, self-care, and strategies for enhancing mental health.

Participants:

  • explore who is part of their family, their values and who they can seek support from
  • learn tools for making healthy decisions
  • prepare for physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty

This module focuses on:

  • healthy relationships/friendships
  • what it means to be a good friend
  • what is a healthy relationship
  • skills for negotiating boundaries
  • personal rights and agency

This module also offers tools for being an active bystander, especially in school settings.

This module focuses on being an ally, largely focused on gender and the media. This module also provides tools on media literacy, allowing participants to use critical thinking skills to understand and navigate media messages.

Participants explore:

  • what it means to be a girl in our society
  • what messages girls get (positive and negative)
  • what is great about being a girl

There are two natural support workshops for any important adult in the girl’s life. Natural supports may include parents, foster parents, guardians, family friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents or any adults who help provide the participant with a sense of belonging, identity, security or self-esteem. Positive outcomes are more likely to be met when supported at home as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Parents and Caregivers

Girls aged 8-13 are about to experience enormous changes as they begin puberty and start to navigate big new issues like body image, relationships and media. Research shows that puberty, sexual and relationship education is most effective at this age and when it focuses on social-emotional learning and self-esteem promotion. Girls Program equips girls with the tools and support to face these challenges with resilience, skills and knowledge.

This program emphasizes the importance of natural supports (parents or caregivers). We involve them in the program and learning, and give them the tools to help support the girls in their journey. This happens through take-home worksheets and a series of education workshops.

We discuss:

  • mental health
  • body image
  • self-esteem
  • sexual health (please see section on sexual health for more information)
  • friendships/relationships
  • media literacy

Within all of our activities, there is a component of referring to “natural supports” – these are the people that occur naturally in our lives like parents, siblings, friends, etc. The natural supports framework is important to supporting youth as they grow up, especially as they are going through puberty, a time full of big changes!

The program runs once a week for about 20 weeks with each session being 45 minutes to an hour in length. Girls Program happens within school hours with optional activities to complete at home.

This is a very common feeling! The portion of Girls Program that covers sex education follows the Alberta curriculum outcomes.

  • Grade 4 Learning Outcome: Students explain how development and puberty are connected. We will discuss puberty and the changes associated with puberty, as well as anatomy for people with a uterus, periods/menstruation and menstrual products.
  • Grade 5 Learning Outcome: Students connect puberty to the capacity for human reproduction. We will review students’ knowledge of puberty and menstruation, and we will discuss anatomy for people with penises and how changes to these types of bodies is connected to the capacity for human reproduction.
  • Grade 6 Learning Outcome: Students investigate human reproduction from fertilization to birth. We will discuss how pregnancy occurs and forms of birth control, fetal development from fertilization to birth and ways to engage in a healthy pregnancy.

Research shows that puberty, sexual and relationship education is most effective at this age when it is focused on self-esteem promotion. This program gives young students the opportunity to connect in a small group to learn and develop skills to navigate growing into healthy adults.

The Girls Program is evidence-informed, age-appropriate and based on best practices. Each activity has been created in alignment with one or more outcomes from the Alberta Curriculum.

We are glad this is something you’re thinking about! Our program emphasizes the importance of natural supports (parents/caregivers). During each session, our facilitators highlight that each person will have different experiences, values and opinions and that it is important to talk to our natural supports. The take-home activities are a great way to share what you think!

We will host two virtual education workshops for parents/caregivers throughout the program. While these are not mandatory, they’re a great way to learn tools and connect with other parents/caregivers.

We also provide optional take-home activities designed for you to complete with your child. They are a great opportunity to discuss topics and share your values!

This is a great question that we hear often! We encourage any young person who feels connected to the topics to join the program. Our facilitators ensure that spaces are inclusive, each person can take something away from the conversations and everyone can show up as their authentic self!

For Educators

The Girls Program is evidence-informed, age-appropriate and based on best practices. Each activity has been created in alignment with one or more outcomes from the Alberta Curriculum. See our handout on how the program aligns with the Alberta Curriculum.

The program requires a consistent space for sessions such as a classroom that is not being used every week at the same time, or a recurring booking in the library when other classes are not using it. This is required so that participants in the program can share and learn with each other in a way that feels safe and is not disrupted.

Participants are also given workbooks to use each session. A place to store a bin or two of workbooks at the school is very helpful!

This is something we hear commonly for this grade. Our program schedule is flexible and we can move sessions around so that teachers are confident that students are learning their core materials. Please reach out to our team on more information of how we can make this work!

Raising Girls Workshop Series

Because not all girls have access to the Girls Program in their schools, Centre for Sexuality offers the Raising Girls Workshop Series. These workshops are a three-part series offered during evenings or weekends. Sessions cover some of the core topics of our Girls Program including:

  • puberty
  • healthy friendships
  • body image
  • media literacy

These workshops are delivered to girls aged 9-12 and their natural supports (parents/guardians). Please check the website or social media for announcements on program dates or email our Youth Programs Manager at lharrisson@centreforsexuality.ca.