Forty-one percent of Jamestown High School students reported their anxiety levels as “high” in their last school survey. Mental health challenges are a common trend across the nation with schools working to help students understand and process their emotions in healthy ways. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013-2023, 29% of high schoolers experienced poor mental health in the previous 30 days. While emotions and behavior should be addressed all year round, Jamestown High School (JHS) counselors  have noticed that the weeks leading up to winter break are typically packed with heightened emotion as final exams meet the holiday season. In response to this, the JHS Counseling Department recently hosted a Mindfulness Fair to introduce evidence-supported coping techniques.

The Mindfulness Fair followed the model of an open house inviting students to spend pieces of one afternoon in the student commons attending various stations that interested them. Stations included Legos, board games, puzzles, gratitude journaling, art therapy, yoga class, and an area with information on resources like food pantries, laundry services, and test anxiety. One of the more popular activities was the silent disco where students were given headphones and the ability to select one of several stations for listening. School counselors, Mindy Skunberg and Halsey Mahoney, remarked that it was fun to see students dancing together to their own music selections. While some of the activities, like the silent disco, were included to coax students to attend, the majority of stations were chosen based on evidence-supported practices of reducing stress and helping students intentionally take breaks.

The idea for a Mindfulness Fair was inspired by a blog from another school counselor, and with the assistance of two student groups, Sources of Strength and Blue Jay Academy, Skunberg and Mahoney made their own customizations to the idea. Sources of Strength is a group that focuses on wellness, so inviting members to be part of the planning process and providing feedback built a sense of investment while keeping the event student focused. Blue Jay Academy is an alternative high school, and they were instrumental in the set-up of the event. Skunberg and Mahoney affirmed that this event was a great way to ensure that everyone in the school had an opportunity to be involved.

Approximately 10% of their student population participated in the event, and they found value in the experience. Students didn’t treat the Mindfulness Fair as an excuse to get out of class for an hour. Mahoney remarked that one student asked if the counselors could host the event every week. Another student asked if they had more gratitude journalling packets that they could take home to continue their practice. The variety of activities helped students discover anxiety-reducing practices that worked for them.

Jamestown High School is currently attending NDMTSS: Developing Schoolwide Behavior Expectations. JHS is committed to implementing PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), and their leadership team engages in establishing clarity around student behaviors, collecting and analyzing data, and taking action to support students with evidence-based strategies, such as this. As Skunberg stated, stress can lead to intense behaviors, and it’s important to teach students to replace those behaviors with something else. The Mindfulness Fair introduced students to substitute behaviors that are easy to do with readily accessible materials like paper and a writing utensil for journaling. It also provided the counselors with more information on strategies that work for specific students. They can now implement anxiety-reducing tactics that work for individuals in one-on-one sessions or small groups. The fair provided a space for connecting students with the counseling team.   The fair took place in an area with heavy traffic, so they were able to increase their visibility and associate themselves with fun activities providing students with an opportunity to be vulnerable without feeling the stigma of mental health.

While the first Mindfulness Fair at JHS was a success, Skunberg and Mahoney are thinking about ways to improve the program. One growth area is increased collaboration with both administrators and teachers to encourage student attendance. As the event was an open house, it was up to individual teachers to allow students to use class time to attend. Teacher and administrator support for events like this is powerful. For example, one of the JHS career and technical education teachers gave students the choice to attend the fair for extra credit with the caveat that they had to prove they attended. This motivated students to take informational resources with them. The counselors are also brainstorming ways of strengthening teacher partnerships to ensure that the strategies are relevant to common behaviors observed in the classroom. This will help Skunberg and Mahoney introduce more targeted coping mechanisms and build the efficacy of the event.

Their advice for other schools looking to implement something like a Mindfulness Fair is to “pick a date and say you’re doing it.” While everyday tasks are important to accomplish, setting time aside to plan a school-wide event can have a real impact for the overall environment. Skunberg and Mahoney also encourage schools to go for “wacky events.” A unique activity like the silent disco can drive student interest in attending. Ultimately, the Mindfulness Fair was a chance for students to learn how to cope with stress, and hopefully, get to a place where their anxiety is no longer rated as “high.”