On Thursday, May 25th during lunch the Wellness Hub had a soft opening to introduce the space to students. The Hub has been under construction since the end of winter break to renovate it into something more comfortable for students. It will be fully staffed at the start of the upcoming school year and will have more to offer then.
The Wellness Hub is a project that students and staff have been working on since the 2022-23 school year. The Wellness Hub is in room 301 and is a place where students could come in during break or lunch to blow some steam off.
“The Wellness Hub will also have a mental health clinician who will have an office attached to the hub where they can meet with students and provide therapeutic services and will connect students with outside providers,” School Psychologist, Shanti Rachlis, said.
Rachlis is a part of a team to make this happen. She shared that the Hub could be a nice opportunity for students to access the room.
“The Wellness Hub is a place where students can just take a break, or access coping strategies like fidgets, hot tea, coloring books, guided journaling, art and so much more,” Rachlis said.
In the Wellness Hub, Audrey Whitten will be the navigator, who will greet incoming students that arrive. The navigator will be able to check in with the students and hold small groups with students as well. She also wants to ensure the well being of every student’s mental health even if it’s academic or not. Whitten wants to assure that students have places to go to at school to relieve stress and take a brain break.
“We want to support all parts of students’ wellness, not just academics, and ensure our school culture is accepting and understanding of mental health,” Whitten said.
Since the Hub is still not fully open, the Wellness Hub Club is still taking suggestions to make the Hub more accessible and helpful to students if something is unclear.
“We want students to tell us what they need or want from the space so that we can implement their advice and fill in the gaps,” Whitten said.
