Last Thursday, Alden High School hosted Wellness Day. Coordinators have been working since the beginning of last December to create Wellness Day’s activities and invite a multitude of speakers. Having the opportunity to speak to Mrs. Judy Baumgartner, Mrs. Marybeth Marko, Mrs. Jessica Tanner, Mrs. Lisa Bindemann, and Ms. Jenna Ziegler, they had much to say about the creation process of Wellness Day and the effort that everyone involved has put into the event.

     Mrs. Baumgartner says that when Wellness Day lasted all week, it was half-hearted. This year, she was in charge of creating a team of teachers and engaging clubs such as Peer Wellness, Creative Writing, and Youth to Youth. Each of the Wellness Day committee members had a different role to fulfill. The initiative surrounding Wellness Day is summed up in three words: “mind”, “body”, and “spirit”. In regard to the day as a whole and the sessions offered, Mrs. Marko replied, “It was awesome. It [Wellness Day] had so many different options and varieties and the presenters were all great…”.

     Detra Trueheart, the CEO of TrueheartSpeaks Enterprises, kicked off the day with an assembly. She believes in speaking life to students and reminding them that they matter. An Alden Student has participated in the program she runs to uplift, encourage, and remind everyone from women, to leaders, to students that they have hidden gifts, power, and they are fine exactly how they are. Detra hopes that students of Alden High School were impacted by what she had to say to kick off Wellness Day.

     As for Mrs. Tanner, she was ecstatic that she had the chance to run a “Chilling and Settling Down”, a workshop about how to recognize stress, relax, and take personal time to pay attention to oneself.

     Ms. Ziegler was the Pilates instructor last Thursday afternoon. She shares that Wellness Day activities used to take place over the course of a week during advisement, lunches, or study halls. It’s been condensed into one day to ensure that students have the opportunity to participate in the sessions and activities hosted by staff members and outside presenters such as Kids Escaping Drugs. At least 17 staff members stepped up to share their passions in sessions they created. The first session students attended focused on mental health awareness.

     Mrs. Bindemann took on the tedious task of creating student’s master schedules for the day.

     Mrs. Marko and Mrs. Baumgartner would like to thank the students for signing up to participate in the sessions and being  respectful to the presenters, and especially the teachers.

     This was an engaging and relaxing experience for all. Lastly, each of the interviewees shared what kind of impression they hoped the students of Alden High School would get out of this day of spiritual, physical, and mental health awareness.

     Wellness Day was an experience that had a positive impact on the students and teachers of Alden High School. Mrs. Baumgartner stated the only complaint she received is that the sessions should fill up more time in the day. It will most definitely be returning in the future.