A crowd starts to form around a series of tables located off to the side of the cafeteria. Hands grab smoothies, and chatter commences as students talk with people, providing informational tables on social media and healthy lifestyle habits.
Meanwhile, students mindfully color sheets of paper advocating kindness culture and practice Qigong in a serene atmosphere.
In the gym, students can be heard participating in trivia or heavily breathing in attempts to complete a workout.
Wellness Wednesdays took place on April 9, April 23, and April 30 throughout all lunches. Staff members ran different activities in various locations throughout the school.
In preparing the Wellness Wednesdays, Assistant Principal Mr. Tom McLaughlin, MTSS secondary coach Ms. Morgan Segal, and social studies teacher on special assignment Ms. Alissa Harvey coordinated what activities the Wellness Wednesdays would offer—with input from the Panther Student Leadership team helping to develop their plans.
“We reached out to staff members because a lot of them have special interests,” Harvey said. “The idea was to make authentic connections with the staff in terms of finding and sharing a common interest. We also asked around, so we were able to connect with St. Joe’s and the Rotary Club.”
According to Segal, two things inspired the idea for Wellness Wednesdays: a successful all-day faculty wellness day last year and mixed success in providing informational slideshows to students for social and emotional learning (SEL).
The April Wellness Wednesdays did not come without challenges. Spacing, timing, availability, and incentivizing students to participate were factors that needed to be considered.
“We looked at three Wednesdays in April prior to the starting of AP testing, things that would really occupy kids and we’re like, ‘Hey man, let’s just give this a try,’” McLaughlin said. “We’ll get some feedback from the students, we’re looking for feedback, like ‘that was good, that stunk. This was fun. I like this, more opportunity for this.’”
According to McLaughlin, the wellness events aim to build students’ high school experiences and open them up to new, useful interests.
“If we can give you your toolbox of things you refer back to when you’re stressed out, or when you’re bored or things you want to try, if we can put more things in that toolbox when you leave here, you’re more well rounded,” McLaughlin said. “I feel like that’s our job.”
The first Wellness Wednesday took place on April 9, consisting of activities like mindful coloring, health trivia, completing exercises, and Qigong. For senior Michael Moretti, participating in Qigong with several of his peers was a notable experience.
“It definitely cleared my mind,” Moretti said. “Especially as graduation is coming up, now I know that I can do these stretches to clear my mind and return myself to a center. It’ll definitely help lose distress.”
Down in the back of the cafeteria, tables shared information on social media and healthy relationships, and healthy smoothies were provided. Santore conversed with Communications & Community Relations Liaison Ms. Rachel Riley, who ran a social media detox information table.
“She asked me how often I was on my phone,” Santore said. “I told her that I have a screen time limit that controls how much I’m on my phone and apparently it’s a lot, and my screen time’s a lot better than most people’s.”
If a student participates in a Wellness Wednesday activity, they receive a ticket for a raffle. Prizes can include swag and gift cards to local and chain businesses.
“I got two tickets and I turned them in for the Pinocchio’s raffle,” Santore said. “I hope I win because then I can get fries, because I love [their] fries.”
If the Wellness Wednesdays are successful, Harvey and Segal hope to bring it back again next year with more frequent activities during lunch.
“We’re having about seven or eight activities per day,” Segal said. “I think in a perfect world, it would be if we had one to two presenters for the month of January, one to two for the month of February… so If you like yoga, this month we’re going to have a yoga session during your lunch and the following month, we’re going to have a mindfulness meditation session.”
Harvey and Segal hope the April Wellness Wednesdays leave students with takeaways.
“I just hope they walk away saying like, ‘Wow, that was fun,’ or ‘Wow, I learned something new,’” Harvey said. “Hopefully they have fun with it and then big, big goals that would make us really happy is if something stuck with you long-term.”
