In order to raise consciousness about the student’s mental health and to encourage the right conduct as well as emotional wellbeing practices to prevent further negative effects of one’s stressful environment, Makati Hope Christian School (MHCS) celebrated mental health awareness week on October 12-16 2020.
Ms. Janine Margareth Sarto, a guidance class counselor to high school students, discussed the thought process for the events and activities for mental health week.
“The first step in the planning process is knowing the ‘why’ or the purpose of taking care of one’s mental health. Identifying the intent of an act gives a clearer summary or the bigger picture of the desired outcome. When you assign tasks in taking care of your mental health, you need to identify the issue/problem, conceptualize the problem, set goals, and do the intervention.”
With this in mind, she conducted activities based on what is most likely the common issues the students are facing when it comes to their mental health such as the lack of self-confidence.
Elementary students watched a short clip regarding mental health. The video taught the definition of stress on how natural and normal it can occur to a person. The short clip also included two coping strategies in order for students to learn how to deal with the difficulty of facing stress in an adequate manner.
The start of “My Mental Health Care and Support MHCS photo challenges” was also done on the same day. Its main objective was to show what the wellbeing looks and feels like for each student. Elementary students picked three challenges among 15 choices and take a photo accordingly.
The school also held a general assembly concerning mental health for elementary levels which were spearheaded by Ms. Lexlee Ann Tumlos, a guidance class teacher for the elementary.
The general assembly talked about mental health’s definition, effect, ways to maintain positive mental health and teaching students how to help people who are suffering from poor mental health. The presentation even included some cited inspiring messages from mental health professionals and advocates.
“Add to My Cart of blessings” was the last activity to conclude the week-long celebration. Its goal was to display how appreciable life is despite the challenges students are facing. It also highlighted the value of being thankful and grateful for simple things.
The high school’s general assembly lecture about this week’s Mental Health was led by Sarto. She talked about self-care suggestions and tips on how to maintain healthy mental health. Some of which were to recognize the problem, do some self-care activities, and to talk about it.
The first activity that the high school students did was to make an infographic about what self-care activities they can do each day of the week.
The last activity was to choose a self-care activity and to write a reflection about it and how it possibly helped them. Some of the activities included writing, playing some games, eating some “mentally healthy food” and to listen to some motivational videos.
With these activities, the school hopes that the activities will help the students become more aware of their mental health and will continue to help, guide and nurture the mental wellness of the students.
Story by Faith Angeline Ongaria and John Ethan Chiuten
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