Bedding the seeds of mental health, the Diamond Bar High School Wellness Center launched its semiannual event Thrive on Oct. 10 as solace for students suffering in the stress of their academic world. Held from 8:30 AM to 12:48 PM, the event promoted student wellness and encouraged social and emotional learning (SEL) in school through mind-relaxing activities and engaging interactive games.
This year’s Thrive was centered around the movie Up. The Wellness Center’s peer counseling team held poster painting sessions every Wednesday to prepare for the event, where they would plan out the mini-games and overall decor of the event. Peer counseling officers like senior Chloe Lu supplied materials and guided the other members of the team to make the most of the event.
“Thrive was a great place for students to relax and take their mind off of their classes and schoolwork,” Lu said. “The Wellness Center is a resource for students to use to receive wellness from consultants or for quiet time—we wanted it to be a safe space… to reflect freely and make new friends.”
Students were split randomly into groups, named after characters in the movie, where they opened up to each other about their lives and emotions, under supervision from two to three peer counselors. Each student took turns asking and sharing their individual interpretations to thought-provoking questions about their emotions. The groups also played games with each other, including a loosely wellness-themed Heads Up as an introductory activity.
In addition to the discussion circles, the peer counselors, along with their advisor Denise Mesdjian, led all of the participants in several event-wide games. Representatives from each group let out some of their steam through an elimination-style hula-hoop competition, where the winner was the last one standing.
Another of these interactive activities allowed students to see their own individuality in the Thrive tradition ‘Over the Line’. Participants were given a specific hypothetical situation, such as going out on a date or taking a test, and asked to move to either end of the gym depending on whether they considered it an adventure or an internal disaster.
“This game lets students see that others might be going through the same things that they are as well, and that they’re not alone,” Lu said.
After the discussions, activities and snack breaks, Mesdjian and the peer counselors guided students in a meditation session before giving a closing speech and releasing the students for lunch.
“I would definitely consider Thrive to be a success,” Lu said. “I felt that it went a lot smoother than the past few, and I’m so proud of peer counseling for working so hard on Thrive!”