During lunches on a typical school day, students can be found sitting at tables in the cafeteria, eating lunch, and talking with friends. But during lunches on April 8, students could be found making bracelets, talking to guest speakers, and playing games. Why? Because it was Wellness Wednesday.
Wellness Wednesdays were created in the 2024-25 school year by Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Secondary Coach Mrs. Morgan Segal and social studies teacher and MTSS Tier One Coach Ms. Alissa Harvey for the school’s PBIS program.
They had Wellness Wednesdays for three Wednesdays that April. The program was successful, so they started doing them this year. According to Harvey, the Wellness Wednesdays continue to have great results.
“I always get nervous that students aren’t going to participate, but they really do, in high numbers, and they seem very excited,” Harvey said. “For instance, one Wellness Wednesday, we did bingo, and it was just pleasantly [surprising] how excited and how involved a lot of the students [were].”
Segal and Harvey work with a group of staff members and the student leadership team to create each Wellness Wednesday. The school also invites guest speakers to talk to students. On April 9th, the Outreach and Awareness Coordinator Sybilla Moore from the Domestic Abuse Project came to speak to students about the resources the project provides.
“The main thing I want to tell students about is that all of our services are free and confidential,” Moore said.
This Wellness Wednesday also provided games for students. Students could play cornhole outside and use the Haven Plinko board made by wood tech students. A bracelet making station was also set up for students to participate in.
“We [try] to really incorporate everything that might be interesting to students, with the long term goal of maybe having students pick up something that they didn’t know that they liked,” Harvey said.
Freshmen Sydney Hall and Anya Zhu participated in the bracelet making and both enjoyed the Wellness Wednesday.
“I haven’t been able to participate in a lot of the Wellness Wednesdays. But I thought this one was really good overall,” Hall said.
While the Wellness Wednesdays already provide a multitude of opportunities, Harvey believes that more can be done.
“We’d like to really get into the habit of making sure that there is a diverse representation of interest,” Harvey said. “The last one that we did, it was a little bit heavier on arts and crafts. [We] could introduce something that’s a little bit more well rounded.”
Be on the lookout for the next Wellness Wednesday, where students will be able to relax, decompress, and have fun with friends. All students are welcome to participate.
“Wellness Wednesday is pretty dope. [You] should keep doing it,” Zhu said.
