Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader
Jordan Pearson is a social work practicum student at E.G. Wahlstrom Elementary School.
One of her jobs has been to organize mental health journaling prompts for every school day in May.
“We’re just prolonging it through the month,” says Pearson.
Each day, EGW teachers have a little meeting with their students. In May, the students will journal about a mental health prompt, write a daily dose of gratitude, and indicate their mood.
In May, there will also be small groups of five or six which will meet once in a while to discuss anxiety, social cues and confrontation, and self-acceptance.
During Mental Health Week, Pearson and the Wellness Coach will do presentations in class about the difference of empathy and sympathy.
Roland Michener Secondary School wellness team hopes to focus on a “holistic perspective” of empathy during Mental Health Week.
“We don’t just want to talk at students, we want to engage with them,” says Jenna Jackson, Wellness Coach. “We’re hoping to bring everyone together and focus on connection.”
One of the ways the coaches are doing this is by taking part in PE, not to give speech, but to participate.
“We’re going into the classes to join them,” says Jackson. “A really good way to reconnect and to promote physical activity, promote laughter, and being silly while getting some exercise.”
Every month, Michener wellness team puts out a Mental Health Blitz.
Wellness Coach Courtney Harrington describes this as “a quick couple minute video to get out some mental health information.”
There are also some events for staff including a scavenger hunt.
This consists of small tasks they can do throughout the week, says Madison Mitchell, social work practicum student at Michener.
Northern Lakes College is holding a Family Movie Night for Mental Health Week.
“The goal is to bring awareness to the subject of mental health,” says a spokesperson with NLC Student Success. “Movies can provide an entry point into talking about empathy. By encouraging these conversations, we can all learn and practice the important skill of empathy.”
To facilitate this students are given information about empathy and self-care and some discussion questions.
“Since a significant number of our students attend classes online and our student body is geographically spread throughout our service region, we wanted to create an activity that was accessible to everyone,” says NLC Student Success. “Because of our online teaching and learning model, Supported Distance Learning (SDL), many of our students are able to live in their home communities.
“While we welcome them at campus, students are not required to be on campus. These events allow our students to participate from their home communities with their families.”
Students and their families can participate any time between May 2 and 8.
