On Thursday, November 21, all 615 students sat down in their advisory groups to complete the Authentic Connections Survey on physical, mental, and emotional health.
This survey was a part of recent programming focused on student well-being, initiated by the Adult Wellness Committee in coordination with the Student Wellness Council.
Started in the fall of 2020 and conducted yearly, the survey gathers anonymous data about different areas of student wellness, including emotional and academic well-being, quality of support from adults, and experiences of discrimination.
Mrs. Carrie Smith, director of student wellness, said, “The data helps us understand how we can make our school better, meet students’ needs, and make sure we are doing everything we can to take the best care of the students.”
The results of the questionnaire will be known in the upcoming weeks. Adults on the committee will discuss it and later bring it to the student Wellness Council in order to figure out what the school needs to address.
Fifteen students meet biweekly with Mrs. Smith to discuss concerns and ideas related to the well-being of the student body. “Students inform me about the issues the community is concerned about, what students would like more information about, what beneficial programming would be, and what they want adults on the committee to know about their well-being,” said Mrs. Smith.
Mrs. Smith also leads the Adult Wellness Committee, consisting of Dr. Amber Douglas, associate head of school; Mr. Andrew D’Ambrosio, dean of student life; Ms. Jodi von Jess, director of counseling; Mr. Daymyen Layne, director of diversity, equity and inclusion; Ms. Amanda McClure, associate dean of student life; and Mr. Richard Davis, dean of academic life.
The Student Wellness Council was created in 2022. Its members were selected through an application process designed to represent the whole community and include as many voices as possible.
“We wanted the Student Wellness Council to be an opportunity for students to influence our programming,” Mrs. Smith said. Petal Hammam ’25, a member of the council, said, “We learn a lot. We read research articles and watch lots of videos about wellness topics, like happiness and gratitude.” The Council works on incorporating the ASPIRE (Active, Spiritual, Purposeful, Intellectual, Relational, and Expressive) model into the programming.
Mrs. Smith said, “We encourage students to think about how they are taking care of themselves physically or how they pay attention to their spiritual health.”
The Council has helped bring a number of speakers, including Mike Domitrz, founder of The Center for Respect, an organization aiming to prevent sexual assaults.
Oleh Shtunder ’25 said, “His talk was interesting and engaging. Mr. Domitzr centered his talk around the fact that everyone is different, so consent is about respecting an individual as a whole and not just a body.”
This year, the council started the “mattering movement,” where proctors give notes or small gifts to every proctee. “Data shows if students feel like people recognize their contributions to the community, that gives them a sense of purpose and meaning,” said Mrs. Smith.
The Council has invited author Rosalind Wiseman to speak in the spring, best known for her book Queen Bees and Wannabes. The book inspired the 2004 film Mean Girls.
