Student government has rebranded the winter spirit week as Winter Recharge Self-Care Week in order to promote student mental health.
Each day of the week–except for Tuesday’s planned “Hat Day” and Homeroom activity, canceled because of an e-Learning day–has a unique dress-up day and activity that brings awareness to an aspect of mental health and promotes self-care. Student Government Representative Lauren Cook said Student Government’s Winter Recharge Week has existed in years past to make the start of the year more exciting for students, but they chose a different approach for this year’s spirit week.
“We know it’s a hard start to the second semester. [Winter Recharge Self-Care Week] is framed as creating more community at North and making sure that people know the resources we have,” Cook said.
The amount of adolescents struggling with mental health issues like depression and anxiety has increased in recent years due to events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of social media having adverse consequences on many students.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, events that garner mental health awareness in schools, like Winter Recharge Self-Care Week, can make a significant difference in students receiving the assistance they need. Cook detailed the initiatives to implement more mental health awareness into the spirit week.
“We’ve gone to a lot of seminars to make a week like this happen. There’s been just a big push in our district [to make mental health weeks happen] but also I know our school has been going through a lot this year, so it’s especially welcome,” Cook said.
Students are welcome to participate in spirit days from “Pajama Day,” which promotes relaxation, to “Yellow Out,” as yellow represents mental health awareness. They are also able to participate in gratifying activities of their choice during Thursday’s WIN and watching “Inside Out” in the NPAC during Friday’s lunch hours. Junior Chloe Nio said that she enjoys taking part in Winter Recharge Self-Care Week because it’s a reminder to put mental health first.
“After winter break, it can kind of be a tough transition back into school. But I think it’s really nice to have a week for us to take care of ourselves,” Nio said.
More information on each dress-up day and activity can be found here.
