Resilience, A Silver Lining

Amidst the challenges of the times and the vexing events that occur in rapid succession, maintaining equilibrium and refusing to fall into the abyss can be a monumental task.

 

There’s an antidote, though, and it’s well within our individual and collective grasp: Get a workout. Go for a run. Take a walk. Ride a bicycle. Breathe the fresh air. Your choice notwithstanding, it’ll uplift your spirits and bring you peace.

 

There’s more, of course, because wellness involves not just physical exercise but attention to mind and spirit as well.

 

There’s yoga, Pilates, intentional mindfulness practice and on and on and on, limited only by your creativity and desire to take a break from the cacophony of the times.

 

“Wellbeing is the core to everything, right now even more so,” said Kathy Wrenn, Collegiate’s wellness coordinator. “We’re going to see for years down the road the impact of 2020. If we can stay ahead of it and address our social/emotional wellbeing, it’ll only make us stronger and more resilient.”

 

Therein lies the theme of Collegiate’s many wellness initiatives, some planned, others more subtle and spontaneous: resilience.

 

“I’m all about the energy that surrounds us,” Kathy explained. “When we have negative energy surrounding us 24/7, it weighs us down. Trying to find that positive mindset is important. It all comes down to resilience. We can’t become victims. We have to be changemakers in our own lives and the lives of other people.”

 

Link It & Live It, Collegiate’s multi-faceted wellness program, began in earnest in 2005 and has grown significantly over the years. As the school community deals with the roller coaster of emotions, norm changes, and stressors created by the events of the day, the various offerings might look somewhat different, but the focus remains the same.

 

Among several opportunities for faculty and staff are old standbys: HIIT Fit and Pilates, both offered this year via Zoom, as well as the annual January/February fitness challenge called “New Year, New You.”

 

“We had things in place that weren’t impacted by COVID,” Kathy said. “We’re looking at what employees feel like they need. We gave out 65 exercise bands for the people interested in the HIIT Fit class. It’s worked out really well. It’s a lot of body weight exercises. Our instructors are really good about adjusting the exercises to meet the needs of each person.

 

“We’re also trying to implement new things. We’ve considered bringing on somebody to talk about how to make healthy lunches because everybody brings their lunch. We’ve talked about more mindfulness (training) to help with stress management. We’re trying to help employees navigate the challenges but not overwhelm them with one more thing.”

 

Among numerous initiatives in the Lower School, counselors Anne Hogge and Kelsey Felton are fostering resilience through activities with students and communicating suggestions to families via email and regular newsletters.

 

“From the social/emotional perspective,” Anne said, “we’re having more open-ended groups for students to connect with their classmates (from different classes). Every day, we’re coming up with creative ways, whether it’s putting kids in different rooms to Zoom if they’re in different classes or with remote students. We want them to feel like they’re connected to their friends.”

 

Much of the counselors’ focus is helping students manage feelings during this uncertain time.

 

“We’ve really fine-tuned our social/emotional curriculum so that the topics build upon each other at each grade level,” Kelsey said. “A big component is increasing their (students’) emotional vocabulary, being able to accurately identify feelings, and then talking through coping strategies. It’s important for kids to know that this is hard but we can cope and keep going and get stronger. Building resilience is a silver lining.”

 

Any chance to get outside, unmask when spaced properly, and commune with nature is therapeutic.

 

“Our job,” said Anne, “isn’t to solve anything but help students develop skills to cope and solve on their own. Collegiate is traditionally a rigorous academic school. This time, while it’s been difficult and stressful in a lot of ways, has allowed us to shift our mindset toward overall wellbeing which is an essential skill that kids need as they grow up: How to manage their emotions and take care of themselves and pause when they need to in order to be successful, not just academically but as a whole person.”

 

Jenny Lindner and Farley Macdonald administer the Middle School Link It & Live It program which involves continuing wellness education as well as planned activities, often at recess.

 

“As always,” Jenny said, “we’re trying to encourage students to make choices so they can enjoy a healthy lifestyle both now and in the future. This year, we haven’t been able to do some things we’ve done in the past, but the kids have been incredible as far as coming up with new and creative activities.”

 

Among them was the Top Flight Paper Airplane contest, a recess event staged in the Jacobs Gym. Upwards of 50 participants placed targets on the floor and, from the balcony, attempted to hit their targets.

 

“Recess has been different,” Jenny said. “They can’t use equipment. They can’t do some of the things they normally do. That (the paper airplane competition) was a fun thing to do.”

 

Both Lower and Middle School students had the opportunity over winter break to participate in the Bingo Challenge.

 

“It’s a Bingo card,” Kathy Wrenn said. “It’s something students could do with their parents and siblings. It has everything from physical activities to reading a book to mindfulness. It’s wellness-based with the physical, emotional, social, intellectual mindset.”

 

Wellness education including numerous programs and activities is also at the forefront of the Upper School experience.

 

“In our opening faculty meeting, we had (assistant US head) Sarah Baker talk about acknowledging the times and affirming the spectrum of experiences that were in the room,” said Annie Richards, health and wellness department chair.  “We (several presenters) talked about keeping our eyes and ears open, grounding activities that could keep people as calm and relaxed as possible, and positive things that could come out of a pandemic. I thought that really set a nice tone for the year.”

 

Though the freshman- and junior-class fall retreats (spearheaded by Beth Kondorossy and Missy Herod) had something of a different look, they proved effective nonetheless. A highlight of the 11^th grade event was a presentation by Jake McDonald, a health and wellness teacher and 2007 graduate, and his classmate Wit Robertson about the power of friendships and relationships. As the school year progressed, such staples as Spirit Week and Homecoming festivities, Brunch whistle blowing, and Feast of Juul continued, just with a difference appearance. All proved to be important morale boosters.

 

“There’ve been a lot of things we’ve done under the umbrella of wellness as far as supporting the kids and making them feel like they’re still experiencing the fun Collegiate traditions,” Annie explained. “There’s a quote (by Virgil) that says, ‘The greatest wealth is health.’ The bottom line is that we may not have control over a lot of things right now, but we can control how we respond. Our students and faculty have just been so resilient. They’ve done a really great job.”

~ Weldon Bradshaw