The Mahtomedi High School Student Leadership Council (SLC) recently held its annual Mental Wellness Week, a week focused on promoting mental health awareness and well-being for their high school peers. The student leaders used the acronym ABLE (Awareness, Balance, Learning, and Empathy) as a theme for the week. Throughout the week, students shared daily messages and social media posts that defined the terms and offered practical tips for incorporating them into daily life.
In addition to the positive social media educational efforts, the SLC held interactive ABLE sessions during two Flex time sessions. Students had the opportunity to select two sessions, each of which was designed to engage participants in different aspects of wellness. Collaborating with staff, the SLC offered over 70 diverse activities, ranging from listening to guest speakers and engaging in physical exercises to creative outlets like coloring or journaling.
The sessions included speakers who shared their personal wellness journey, including student speaker Maia Daniels (Class of 2026), alumni speakers Eleanor Anderson (Class of 2023), Parker Fox (Class of 2017), and current University of Minnesota Men’s Basketball player, and staff speaker School Resource Officer Nick (Sully) Sullivan.
The event also included community participation from our community partners, like North Homes Children and Family Services (who provides mental health therapy in our schools), Washington County, MN Government, and the NAMI Minnesota, who offered meaningful learning for our students during the two Flex sessions and during lunch.
✏️Written by Aoife Hiniker, Class of 2026 student at Mahtomedi High School and Mahtomedi Public Schools Communications Intern