Picture this: it’s a brisk fall afternoon and students have just been released to participate in various stress relieving activities for the remainder of the school day. Students relax as they engage in a petting zoo, hypnotist, ping pong, playdough, or coloring. This scene is from one of the Wellness Enrichment Activity Days that were implemented during the 2021-2022 school year.

The fall can be a particularly stressful time of year for students with the start of new classes making it easy for students to lose sight of their mental health. I believe that bringing back Wellness Enrichment Activity Days would aid in solving this problem. These activities would provide students with an opportunity to take a break from the stress of school and to spend meaningful time focused on their well-being.

Wellness Enrichment Activity Days were initially implemented in the fall of last school year as a way to assist students in the transition from a hybrid to a fully in-person schedule. The school administration anticipated students experiencing “mental fatigue” as the pre-COVID schedule resumed and extracurricular activities were in full swing.

Although students are back to attending full in-person school, there is still value in having Wellness Enrichment Activity days as mental health issues continue to persist. In a study released in March of 2022, the CDC found that 44% of surveyed high school students reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” during the last year.

The return of Wellness Enrichment Days would give students a much needed break from the pressure of school as well as something fun to look forward to each month.