Brett Lauther, a kicker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was at Pleasantdale school to promote wellness among the students.  

Lauther dedicated the entire day to the school, starting with the grade ones. 

“He did readings in those classrooms, talked to them about the importance of reading,” said Michelle Smart, principal of Pleasantdale School.  

Following lunch, he addressed students in grades five through eight, with an emphasis on the importance of wellness.  

Smart noted that wellness has become a priority due to increasing signs of stress and anxiety among students.  

“If we have an opportunity for somebody to come in and just talk about how they’ve dealt with it in their lives. Especially someone like Brett who the kids look up to, because in their eyes, he’s kind of famous,” said Smart. “I just feel like it’s an important message when they hear that from other people who feel like they have had stress in their lives, anxiety etcetera.”  

Lauther then went over some coping strategies with the students and practiced some different methods that he uses before heading out on the field.  

Smart said that the message resonated with the students, as the school has a lot of athletes, and sports fans.  

The school showed their support for their guest, by dressing in Roughrider green or sporting their favourite jerseys, and hats.  

Many of the students were excited to get their Roughriders items signed by Lauther. Smart added that Lauther also gave out a card to each student, with his signature on it.  

Even though the students were excited about the autograph Lauther was there to spread a message about wellness. 

“It was great having him. He was just such a nice guy, and he said that he visited 50 schools in the province last year.” 

Smart said that to be part of the program, you must enter your school's name, and then they try to get out to as many schools as they can.