Wellness Day: Promoting Physical and Mental Health
A few weeks ago, the first semester culminated with Wellness Day, where students had the opportunity to practice self-care, participate in physical and mental health awareness activities, and hear from a guest speaker.
This was the sixth time that this annual event was hosted, which has become a staple at the school. The first Wellness Day was held in 2021 and the idea for it was created by school counselors Mrs. Shannon Conte and Mrs. Claudia Wolf.
“Wellness Day came about because we wanted to celebrate [International Day for Social Emotional Learning, so the first annual Wellness Day was held in March,” Mrs. Wolf said in an interview. “It was also a way to share the Wellness Center and our mission to promote mental health awareness with the whole school, staff, and community.”
“That first year, it was just a student fair and then the faculty did breakout sessions about how they practiced self-care,” Mrs. Conte said. “The next year, we had a community resource fair. Then, just last year, we brought in a guest speaker for the first time.”
“People now look to put [Wellness Day] on their calendars every year,” Mrs. Wolf added.
Planning for Wellness Day starts very early and is a long, but worthwhile process; there is a lot that goes into it.
“We really start thinking and talking about Wellness Day the day after it wraps up every year,” Mrs. Wolf said. “But, I would say we start our meetings with administration and reserving space within the school and reaching out with a save the date to our partners in the community in November.”
Many local organizations participated in the event this year, and they all volunteered their time to make a contribution to student well-being.
“We partner with a lot of state and county-wide resources, like Prevention Plus of Burlington County, NJ4S, and Second Floor, a youth confidential, anonymous hotline,” Mrs. Conte said.
“We also had Alpha and Omega Working Dogs, who brought in therapy dogs for us,” Mrs. Wolf added.
In addition, teachers and student leaders also hosted their own breakout and table sessions, with each having something unique to offer.
“We had gardening with Mr. Henson, tie dye with Mrs. Wilusz, and crocheting. We also had Mexican art, where students used tissue paper and pipe cleaners to make flowers,” Mrs. Wolf said.
Mrs. Conte then added, “A lot of advisors have their clubs participate. SADD club does the goggles that show the dangers of drunk driving. Mrs. Sharp works with the Indian Culture Club and does henna tattoos.”
The Smoke Signal had an affirmation board that students could place a post-it note with a positive message on, which ended up being a great success. It was run by Editor-in-Chief Zachary Caldera, Student Life and Culture Editor Roma Somi, and Marketing Manager Jack Senechal.
Freshmen and juniors were able to hear the mental health journey of Jordan, a speaker for the organization Minding Your Mind. While in high school, he struggled with depression and alcohol misuse, and attempted suicide. The subject matter, while difficult, is impactful for students to hear and have conversations about.
“The data supports that talking about suicide does not make students want to consider it. It’s really important that we are talking about these hard things because we want to make it so that people can find resources and get help,” Mrs. Wolf said.
Both Mrs. Wolf and Mrs. Conte have seen first-hand the impact that Wellness Day makes on students.
“Wellness Day is such an uplifting, positive, feel-good day, and the vibe around the whole school is lighter and happier. Everyone is in a good mood and we want that feeling to continue post-Wellness Day,” Mrs. Wolf said.
“I think we’ve allowed students to take ownership of their mental health and share things that work for them, or what they may have suffered with in silence previously and realize that they are not alone talking about this,” she added.
Lenape is not the only school with a Wellness Day. In fact, all schools in the LRHSD hold their own version.
“Shawnee calls it Brain Day, and theirs is based out of their humanities department, and the Psychology classes run that. I know Cherokee and Seneca have their own events too,” Mrs. Wolf said.
Overall, it is great how schools are working to promote student well-being through events like Wellness Day. They also help to build a sense of unity between students, staff, and the community at large. Hopefully events like these can become more commonplace across the country in the future because awareness matters.