The Cape Breton Eagles are a member of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The mission of the league is to develop hockey by supporting its elite players both academically and athletically within a safe and enriching environment which can hopefully prepare them for their adult life. The purpose of the League and its teams is to participate in the development of young players aged from sixteen to twenty, and to make them progress towards the highest levels of professional hockey (QMJHL, 2025).

The formal commitment of the League and its teams, towards players in this age category, towards their parents and the public in general, extends beyond the statement of principle described in the previous paragraph: we want to make sure that the player benefits from an optimum development and protect his integrity related to ability and physical and mental condition, and continue top-quality academic education that will allow the player to go on studying normally after his hockey years in the QMJHL (QMJHL, 2025).

The School Visit Program

The Cape Breton Eagles organization has developed an “In School Visiting Program” for our local school communities. The goal of this program is to engage our players with our local students and staff to support overall health and well-being. As well, the aim of the project is to promote the importance of teamwork and bridging those critical aspects of Social Emotional Learning of for the students and players. Engaging students within physical activity is one aspect of the program which has been very popular. Currently, in Canada, the activity rates of youth are staggering. Empowering our communities to increase youth participation rates is imperative for the future of our society and overall well-being. Focusing upon chronic health for example, if we can encourage an additional 10% of people living in Canada to become more physically active, it could potentially result in an annual savings of $629 million in health care costs from chronic conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes (Participaction , 2025).

The cost of inactivity in Canada is $3.9 billion annually. These are direct and indirect costs (Participation 2025).

Outlined below is a succinct representation of physical activity levels as reported by Participaction (2025):

Sports and play also bring psychological benefits to its participants. It has been unveiled that youth participating in regular exercise such as sports can reduce anxiety, tension, and depression and can increase one’s self-esteem (MacMahon, 2012). Further to this and exploring the concepts of physical activity and increased psychological benefits from 1999, it was found that within a fitness program 82 participants experienced both a positive physical and psychological improvement compared to the control group (DiLorenzo et al., 1999). This is supported by research which concludes that mental health and social connectivity are instrumental within those connections to physical activity participation. As Participaction (2025) revealed:

In summary, it can be concluded that sports have been shown to enhance mood, reduce stress, and promote a more positive self-image and a higher quality of life (Berger, 2012).

The Cape Breton Eagles School Visit Program consists of classroom and small group discussions regarding the importance of:

• Nutritious Eating Habits
• Physical Activity
• Positive Well Being and Teamwork
• Healthy Sleep and Rest
• Respect and Kindness for All
• Building Friendships

Within these sessions, The program also invites students and staff to participate in warm-up activities, which are led by the Eagles players, and a subsequent game of floor hockey. Each school prepares artwork that is linked to physical activity, kindness, friendship, and other SEL tenets, which are displayed at the Eagles home rink of Center 200 in Sydney, NS. Visits conclude with nutritious snacks and prizes for students.

Each year, approximately 12 players participate in the program. Each visit consists of 3-4 players traveling to local schools and engaging within 1.5 hours of programming activities. Research supporting community health promotion and well-being practices suggests that mentoring older athletes paired with younger students can have a plethora of benefits for lifelong learning and impact (Hanson et al., 2022). In an analysis of data regarding physical activity, it was determined that cross-age mentorship programs in sports created positive one-to-one and one-to-many relationships between high school-aged athlete mentors and the elementary school participants. This study concludes that within a grounded theory approach, the efficacy of high school student-athletes as mentors in sports programs is positive (Hanson et al., 2022).

During the 2024 -2025 hockey season, eleven schools participated within the school visit program, a record-breaking year which included elementary and middle schools from Cape Breton. The schools participating included:

The theme for the 2024-2026 school visit program is “One Hundred Ways to Be a Good Friend”. Students are paired with a small group and an Eagle player, and they brainstorm ideas to be a good friend and then share their ideas to create the school poster. All posters are then displayed during an Eagles home game designated to showcase all school artwork and posters. Creating community awareness for SEL is an integral component of the program. Each visit is inclusive and aims to support all abilities within the schools. Several visits have also included sensory visits to meet students with autism, Down syndrome and behaviour challenges.

Elementary schools play a critical role as educational institutions that foster fundamental knowledge, healthy peer relationships, and balanced social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, thus contributing to the upbringing of a “whole child” (Min et al , 2024). The Cape Breton Eagles School Visit Program promotes community relationships with local area schools within Cape Breton. Interested schools contact the program coordinator, who is also a faculty member at Cape Breton University Education Department. Once a schedule is determined by the team, 8-10 visits are scheduled with interested schools.

Each visit is unique and can meet the need for individual schools. To summarize, the program addresses health and well-being through social-emotional learning, physical activity, and friendship. Other aspects of the discussion include a short presentation prepared by players and sharing important messages involving healthy nutrition habits, sleep and screen time limits, benefits of physical activity, and the importance of being a good friend.  The positive impact of community programs as such can be supported through current research. Min et al. (2024) investigated the impact of a six-week study that addressed SEL with 348 elementary students in South Korea. The intervention curriculum was tailored, emphasizing key areas such as resilience, attention, kindness, attention training, and compassion. Results indicated that after the intervention tests showed statistically significant improvements between pre- and post-tests in resilience and its subscales, including self-efficacy, tolerance of negative affect, positive support relations, power of control, and spontaneity, as well as in social and emotional competencies, including emotional regulation, social skills, empathy, and social tendencies (Min et al, 2024).

Maupeltuewey Kina’matno’kuom-Membertou School

Maupeltuewey Kina’matno’kuom participated in the Cape Breton Eagles school visit program during the 2024-2025 season. Many students enjoyed creating a poster of kindness, under the direction of Ben Joe. Students in all grades were encouraged to reflect upon acts of kindness that may have been completed during their school day or school week. To summarize the amazing contributions, the “One Hundred Waysto be a Good Friend” poster (below) highlights these thoughtful ways to be a good friend. Many of these kindness acts included notes such as “ be nice and not hurt their feelings,” “Helping other people and give them hugs.” Research indicates that as children spend many hours in school, this time can be a crucial context for the development of social and emotional skills along with academic competencies. Jones et al. (2013) emphasize that schools should include the teaching and reinforcement of SEL skills into daily interactions with children which can promote children’s and youths’ mental health and well-being. Several decades of research have shown that the promising and potential lifetime benefits of preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders are enhanced by focusing on young people and that early interventions, such as social-emotional learning (SEL), can be effective in delaying or preventing the onset of such disorders (Helliwell et al. 2015).

Globally, the findings of our study indicated that the integration of a SEL program with mindfulness practices in the academic curriculum could benefit children’s social and emotional skills (de Carvalho et al, 2017).

Maupeltuewey Kina’matno’kuom is located in the First Nations community of Membertou within the Municipality of Cape Breton. Membertou is an urban and progressive Mi’kmaq community located on Unama’ki – Cape Breton Island. With a strong focus on community growth through economic development, the spirit of Membertou is driven by its close-knit and vibrant people. Membertou, named after Grand Chief Membertou (1510-1611), is one of five Mi’kmaq communities in Cape Breton and one of thirteen Mi’kmaq communities within the province of Nova Scotia. Membertou is an ever-expanding community, and its current population is 1,695, which includes both on and off-reserve members (Membertou, 2024).

The school includes Grades Primary to Eight. Our staff consists of Principal, Lucy Joe with Vice-Principal, Valerie Matthews, Administrative Assistant, Guidance Counselor, Classroom teachers, Educational Assistants, Resource Teachers, Physical Education Teacher, Mi’kmaq Language & Curriculum Developer, Middle School Mi’kmaq Teacher, Elementary Mi’kmaq Teacher, Librarian, Ground Supervisor, Cook, and Custodian.

The staff provides a holistic education that nurtures the four aspects of the Human Being so that each student has the opportunity to develop his/her intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being within the context of Mi’kmaw culture, values, and language and in partnership with family, elders and community in a safe, supportive and caring environment (Joe, 2024).