This January it was especially important for the St. James Catholic High School Social Justice Club to focus on providing the St. James community with support to help boost their mental health and wellbeing.
Each month the Social Justice Club focuses on a different theme. This month, the club turned to ways to promote positive mental health.
“January can be a challenging month with the short days and the stress of the end of a quadmester, as well as the added stress and change to routine that the pandemic has created. It also aligned well with Bell Let's Talk day, a day that raises money and awareness for mental health,” shared Bree Chaput, teacher advisor for the club. “We had decided on this theme before we knew we would all be learning at home, but when we found out we were going to be learning from home we thought that this theme is even more important. With this change in routine and not being able to connect with peers at school, we need to ensure we are taking care of all aspects of our health and getting the support we need.”
Over the course of January, the club released a video that included messages of hope, ideas for different activities that students could do at home to boost their mental health and supports that they could access if they felt they needed support or someone to talk to.
“Investigating ways to boost our mental health is an important theme, especially because we are once again separated from our loved ones due to the COVID - 19 pandemic during this stay-at-home order,” said Social Justice Club Member, Valeria Monterroza Prieto. “Being at home for so long, having sports and events cancelled, and learning at home virtually really took a toll on me in the beginning of the pandemic. Our mental health affects us in so many ways and it's super important to be taking care of it just like we would anything else. Giving our school community suggestions and ideas on how to boost their mental is great because it reminds everyone that they're not alone and that other people are feeling the same things as them.”
While the activities students lean on for boosting mental health at home can vary, Valeria and her fellow Social Justice Club Member, Kimberly Russell, have shared strategies they practice.
“Some strategies I use to take care of my own mental health are going for walks outside, stretching or doing some form of exercise to clear my head, and making a gratitude list in my journal each night,” said Valeria. “I find that taking time to list what you're grateful for can help keep things in perspective and help me not to focus on everything going wrong. It can be something as small as my socks or something like being grateful for a specific person or activity.”
“Positive reinforcement - start every day by looking in the mirror and say (out loud) positive things about yourself. Including, but not limited to, ‘I love you’ and ‘I matter’,” shared Kimberly. “Start a journal - anytime you feel stressed or down you can write in it about how you're feeling and encouraging things. When the journal is full, you can either burn it (safely) as a symbol of letting go of the past or keep it to remind yourself of your journey to where you are mentally.”
For the remainder of the month, the club will be focusing on initiatives leading up to Bell Let’s Talk Day, in addition to hosting a meditation activity that is open to anyone in the school community to join on January 25.
“Bell Let's Talk Day is a fundraiser held by Bell that’s goal is to raise money for mental health research. During the week of the event our club will be posting pictures with speech bubbles sharing encouraging words that encourage mental health and strategies for boosting mental health,” shared Kimberly. “Some other things we are doing as a community, is a meditation led by our talented religion consultant and teacher in our board Yvonne Runstedler.”
The club will continue to hold virtual meetings while classes are remote. Each meeting is led by student leaders and is open to all of the St. James community.
Follow the official St. James for Justice Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/stj.socialjustice/?hl=en and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/StjForJustice to keep updated on future events.