Red Ribbon Week Activities Spotlight Mental Health and Well-Being

Last week St. Margaret’s Upper School and Middle School students took part in the annual recognition of Red Ribbon Week. As in years past, St. Margaret’s used this time as an opportunity to discuss the importance of mental health, learning more about the connection between physical and mental well-being, and learning coping strategies to use when life gets stressful. This year’s theme was “Bouncing Back” reflecting the resiliency of the St. Margaret’s community.

 

Special presentations began in the Middle School the Friday before Red Ribbon Week, when Deputy Andres Briceno from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department spoke to the students on the dangers of different substances and the importance of making healthy choices. This message was continued the following week in Middle School Chapel, with Upper School students Jake Black and Kaitlin Tam sharing their own personal stories of adversity and how they were able to persevere through their friends, faith, and other support systems. The Middle School concluded the week by listening to guest speakers about topics ranging from managing stress and anxiety to finding your life’s purpose. On Friday, each advisory reflected on the talk they listened to the day before, further exploring how they could implement some of the useful suggestions.

                                                                                                                                                                              

In the Upper School, students heard from senior Amelie Samluk in Chapel bringing awareness to the stigmas surrounding mental health. Amelie shared how going through the pandemic was especially hard on teens and that even though talking about it may be uncomfortable, she encourages our school culture to embrace these conversations to ultimately support students in our community.

 

The message was followed by the always popular “Drugs Out Cook Out,” a gathering of all Upper School students to come together to celebrate a drug-free community. On Friday, each Upper School advisory selected a speaker and topic they wanted to hear. Some of the topics included were how to manage stress and anxiety, managing perfectionism, building up resiliency, an art session on inward reflection, sports psychology, and many more. The speakers consisted of well-respected mental health professionals who were able to share valuable tools and strategies for how to cope with the obstacles that life presents.