The staff and students of WHHS will be taking part in a more active way to destress for Wellness Wednesday.

The new school counselor and wellness activist Kelly Venezia is excited to announce the teaming up of SDA and No Place for Hate for the upcoming wellness Wednesday. The event will consist of flash mobs in between classes as line dancing music like the macarena and cotton eyed joe play over the loudspeakers.

Dancing is a great way for the brain to let out endorphins and promotes emotional wellness and happiness. This time of year is incredibly stressful for students and staff because of the pressures and workloads piling up with little time to focus on mental wellness.

SDA will showcase a performance during a secret period during the day; students are encouraged to wear pink to show the unity between the maroon and white teams.

Senior and maroon jazz captain, Maggie Korman shares her thoughts on this new approach for Wellness Wednesday. “I think it’ll be a fun way for everyone to let loose and just dance around on the halfway point through the year since we’re all stressed.” Juggling two leadership positions of being an SDA captain and an NHS officer, Korman can attest to using dance to cope with stress and the benefits of dancing and having fun.

The goal of this wellness Wednesday is for the students to let loose and have fun, Venezia hopes the students can learn that wellness is more than meditative breathing but rather doing things for oneself as an effective mental health habit.  

“Wellness is not about meditation, it is a holistic picture of yourself.” says Venezia, “It’s exercise, it’s eating right, it’s taking care of yourself, it’s sleep, it’s talking to people, it’s everything.”

Dancing is a great way for the brain to let out endorphins and promotes emotional wellness and happiness. This time of year is incredibly stressful for students and staff because of the pressures and workloads piling up with little time to focus on mental wellness.

Based on survey results, the responses to wellness Wednesdays are quite positive, a majority of students that are participating are appreciating the efforts and advocacy for wellness and plan on attending more wellness Wednesday events.

Despite positive feedback, several teachers find wellness Wednesdays frustrating when trying to cram in assignments and lesson planning. With this criticism and frustration, teachers still often express their gratitude because of the stress-relieving impacts wellness Wednesday has on their students

Venezia emphasizes the importance of wellness and fitting time into busy schedules to be able to unwind and destress to maintain mental clarity and prime emotional health. She welcomes anyone wanting to step out of their comfort zones to participate in this fun and fitness oriented way to wellness this Wednesday, February 13.