Sometimes, you just need a break.
The students at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria felt that way last year after keeping up with pandemic restrictions and protocols, and mourning the loss of members of the Ireton community. It wasn’t easy, said senior Bradley Klinck, a member of the student council, noting it was even more difficult for younger students. “I’m fortunate enough to have had my freshman year be normal but there are freshmen last year and this year who come in and they have to make friends without seeing their faces,” he said. “Some people just don’t know how to act. It’s super overwhelming.”
This year, students have a place to go for a moment to regroup, to study in a relaxing environment or to talk with a trusted adult: the Student Wellness Center. “I wanted to have an area that could serve as that mental health break room (and) everyone in the administration was very on board,” said Klinck.
Working with Head of School Kathleen McNutt, Klinck and other student leaders picked out new paint, carpet and furniture for the wellness center, including a big couch and rocking chairs. There are stress balls, fidget toys, coloring books and games such as checkers available. The classroom monitor shows a video of a tropical aquarium. Mental health tips are pinned to a colorful bulletin board. Soothing music is playing and a decorative fountain trickles water. During finals week, they had a hot cocoa bar.
The center, a renovated classroom, is across the hall from the counseling offices and down the hall from the longstanding health clinic. One of the school’s two nurses, Donna Lorge or Kieran Siobhan Hoffmann Mitchell, mans the center while the other staffs the clinic. The center also is used as a place to host college representatives, as an advisory — sometimes known as homeroom — and as a meeting space for clubs after school. But mostly it’s used by students during study hall or other down time throughout the day. “I have been thrilled to see how the students have found it,” said McNutt. “I go in there and every period there are students there studying or talking to the nurse.”
In the future, the counselors hope to host programs in the center, such as workshops on mindfulness and meditation. But Klinck believes the center is useful as it is now. “The conversation around mental health doesn’t always have to be verbal,” he said. “You have opportunities like staying in the center where you can actively ease your mental health yourself. You get this time and space to yourself to work on your own issues.”
“Sometimes they just need to know that if they need to have a little bit of a cry, they can,” said Mitchell. “Or if they just need to sit quietly and not be spoken to. One of the other places we do that is also in the chapel, of course. When students really want that peace and quiet they can go down there as well.”
Sophomore Claire Gibbons, who stopped by during her study hall, appreciates the atmosphere of the center. “It’s always nice whenever I come in here,” she said. “Mrs. Lorge and Mrs. Mitchell always have a smiling face and are always ready to help you, if you want to talk or you need a snack, or if it wasn’t COVID, probably (give you) a hug.”
