TORONTO -- For hundreds of lucky students in the GTA, Bell Let’s Talk Day brought them out of the classroom and out to spend some time at the basketball court.

“Today we’re fighting the stigma against mental health,” Akil Augustine, sideline reporter for the Raptors 905 said, speaking to CTV News Toronto.

“And on a day like this where you get a gym full of screaming kids it adds a different atmosphere, and all the players really love all the energy that they bring.”

The Raptors 905, the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, held their annual school-day basketball game at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, wearing their new custom “Bell Let’s Talk” jerseys.

The team took on the Grand Rapids Drive with a goal of not only winning, but getting kids to join in the conversation about mental health.

“It’s such an important message,” Erin Mouchian, Grade 8 teacher at St. Timothy School in Mississauga said.

“We work every day closely with all of our students, making sure that they’re feeling safe and secure and feeling like they can express their feelings, their fears, their worries. And a day like this is special because we can highlight that even more.”

Most of the students in attendance are in elementary school, but many of them already use apps like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Some of them say that it can be challenging living in a social media world.

“It’s hard when like you’re focusing on like followers and everything,” one grade seven 7 student said. “Sometimes it can be stressful when you have to compete with people all the time.”

“Sometimes it’s pretty difficult. Somebody can get cyber bullied,” another student added. “But you just have to talk to your friends and stuff like that.”

Alexandra Chaves, star of “The Next Step” on Family Channel was a guest host of the event. She agreed that social media can be isolating for young people.

“Even though we’re all connected, it’s more isolating than ever before,” Chaves told CTV News Toronto. “It’s so important that we tell these kids that they’re not alone. That they can talk to people. They can talk to healthcare professionals, as well as family and friends.”

Mouchian agrees, and adds that teachers are always there to have that conversation.

“People are there to listen and the more that we share the things that we’re worried about and scared about, the more we can sort of end that stigma for mental health.”

The Raptors 905 beat the Grand Rapids Drive by a final score of 116 to 110.