Country School Launches ‘Wellness Wednesdays’
“Research shows that there is a direct correlation between emotional intelligence and academic performance. How we feel affects how we learn,” said Dr. Robert P. Macrae in his announcement of the new year-long Wellness Wednesday initiative.
On one Wednesday of each month, the entire Country School community is delving into a variety of topics related to health and wellness, including nutrition, emotional intelligence, diversity and cultural competence, technology-related issues, mindfulness and stress reduction.
Each one begins with a parent meeting in the morning. In the afternoon, the full faculty and staff continue to explore the topic during their professional development time. Over the course of the month, students are then introduced to that topic through discussions and classroom activities.
The series launched in September, when Dr. Macrae, Assistant Head of School Day Rosenberg, Head of Middle School Kirsten Rosolen, Director of Community Development Lynn Sullivan and School Counselor Kayla Berube talked about the school’s implementation of the RULER program developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
In October, the topic was time management. Head of Middle School Kirsten Rosolen reviewed the school's work with mission skills including time management. Lower School teacher Gretchen Tapscott and Middle School teacher Suzy Sensbach explored time management in detail and gave practical ways parents can extend time management strategies from the classroom to home.
In November, Jake Kircher, a social media and technology consultant from New Canaan CARES, talked about cyber wellness, and in December, the Wellness Wednesday took on an experiential twist with a series of yoga and mindfulness classes.
The next Wellness Wednesday topic is diversity and inclusion featuring John Amaechi and a community book discussion on Whistling Vivaldi (February); future topics may include nutrition, executive functioning, reducing anxiety and connecting with nature.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
