Fostering a healthy mindset in West Hempstead

Fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students at George Washington School in West Hempstead are starting their mornings on a high note with a new schoolwide student wellness program, “Morning Mindfulness”. The curriculum for the program was established by teachers Laura Reetz and Stacey Boshnack and it launched this year to help students start the school day with a positive mindset.
Each morning, classes take part in a different mindfulness activity for about 10-15 minutes. According to Reetz, it is an important time of the day in which students can practice regulating their own emotions to be fully ready to learn.
A new topic is explored each day to help students learn ways to stay positive, overcome challenges, listen with their whole body and be fully present. Among the many morning activities, students learn about the zones of regulation in which different colors represent different emotions and engage in projects that reinforce the importance of living in the present, such as coloring a mandala. By the end of the school year, the educators believe that the program will provide students with the important social skills, interpersonal skills, coping strategies, mindfulness and study/organizational skills needed to succeed.

Compiled by Nakeem Grant