On April 26, the Boston Latin School Wellness Council launched their first annual Positivity and Wellness (PAW) Day to relieve students’ stress and boost mental health.
PAW Day consisted of many activities, including karaoke, smoothies, arts and crafts, outdoor exercises, dodgeball and dance. It also targeted healthy nutrition for students attending; kitchen staff made around 200 smoothies and fruit snack bars for students to enjoy. A number of teachers brought in various yard games and materials for the students to partake in.
Elda Alibeaj (II) adds, “During the karaoke activity, kids who felt confident enough to get up sang with microphones. It got everybody in the room engaged.”
The event aimed to provide students an opportunity to participate in activities, thus allowing them to take a break from academic classes. BLS school psychologist Dr. Vanessa Prosper shares, “This year, the theme was really about engaging students in activities that increase their joy and wellness.”
The Wellness Council is a student-led team at school that works in tandem with mental health-specialized staff. They develop and guide school-based practices and systems that improve school health.
The event arose through a series of monthly meetings during W blocks. After much brainstorming and communicating between the members of the Wellness Council, the idea of having a day for students to take a break from being in the classroom was formed.
Dr. Prosper shares, “We can develop programming. That will support students’ mental health. Either through raising awareness about mental health or talking about ways to better navigate your emotional difficulties in terms of coping skills.”
In addition to planning the PAW day event, the Wellness Council also provides students at BLS with a variety of other mental health resources. Assistant Head of School Jaffrie Perrotti, an administrative organizer for the event and a member of the committee, remarks, “We gave up social-emotional tips of the month through the newsletter. That was a website put up by the end of the year to increase awareness, among staff, things they could do in their classroom to improve the overall wellness.”
At the conclusion of the event, surveys on The Daily Bulletin were sent out to students and teachers to reflect on their experience during PAW Day. BLS social worker Ms. Winnie Wang states, “Of the teachers that responded, 100 percent of them said that they would want to see it happen again, and of the students that responded, around 96 percent said they would like to see it happen again.”
