This is part two of the Wellness Day blog series; see part one here. By Kelly Watson Moss and Kelly Morris O'Neill.
Wellness Day centers on the health and well-being of students and staff. The day is designed to spark interest in the eight different modalities of wellness. The event aims to promote interest in various aspects of wellness.
Rome wasn’t built in a day! Building a successful Wellness Day doesn’t happen overnight either. The groundwork begins months and months ahead of the event with thoughtful planning, collaboration, and a shared vision of what the day will look like. The most successful Wellness Days have one thing in common - they are designed around the needs and interests of their students and staff.
Step 1: Pick a Date
As with any construction project, one must find the right site and permits before beginning work. Early in the school year, take a look at the school events calendar, specifically look for half days, and get a date on the calendar. Sit down with your administration and work together to find a date that fits. We suggest selecting a day close to state testing where wellness skills can be employed and help students prepare and self-regulate during this stressful time. The date is likely closer to the end of the school year, which helps you with planning, because in any construction project, there are bound to be challenges and unexpected issues that may arise. A date towards the end of the school year allows you plenty of time to deal with the unexpected.
Step 2: Define Your Vision
Before any brick is laid, every successful building project begins with a blueprint. This blueprint is your vision and will act as a guild for what your end product will be. As you choose your date, make sure to have a clear understanding and definition of your purpose. How will you discuss Wellness Day in your school community and how will you use that to draw in caregivers and community members to run a workshop.
Think about these key questions to guide your vision:
- What do you want your students to learn/take away?
- How can you ensure there is something for everyone?
- Are all of the 8 dimensions of wellness covered?
Step 3: Reach Out to Caregivers and Community Members
Just as every building project relies on skilled architects, builders, and craftspeople, a successful Wellness Day is strengthened by people who come together to build it.
Caregivers and Community members (not just your school community but the greater community) provides a large pool of individuals whose hobbies, passions, strengths and professional positions connect directly to the 8 dimensions of wellness. There are so many possibilities in your community to tap into.
Start with an inquiry to families and caregivers via email, letter, or your school website to introduce what Wellness Day is, what the 8 dimensions of wellness are and how these important partners in education can help. After this, reach out to professionals and businesses who already work in wellness fields, like coaches, local YMCA or other community organizations whose goal is already wellness. Tap into local colleges/universities and large corporations who instill community partnership or volunteerism within their organizations. Please remember to have a way for them to sign up whether it be a Google Form, or a template they fill out and send in.
Step 4: Offer Student Agency
You can’t build anything without the right materials. Offering students multiple activities is key. An interest inventory is your materials list - it guides you as the planner on what you need to source from staff and your community. By asking your students about their hobbies and interests early in the school year this connects back to your blueprint, your vision. We recommend using advisory time. This will allow their advisor to preview what wellness day is and gather the information you need to build a successful wellness day.
A few questions to consider are:
- What do they enjoy doing outside of school?
- What's something you've always wanted to try but haven't?
- Do they have a hobby they would like to develop more?
- Is there someone in their lives who has a hobby or expertise they would be willing to share with our school community, etc?
When involving students in the process, they are more invested in the outcome. Their responses provide a great jumping-off point to find members of staff, and the community to fill the roles requested.
Step 5: Have a Guest Speaker/Presenter
In any building project there are architectural gems that leave visitors inspired long after they leave. Wellness Day should have this too! These are your guest speakers or keynote speakers. Finding a guest speaker for the day helps with scheduling and focusing the day on a specific wellness theme but it is not necessary just highly encouraged. Because the day is different from a normal school day, having an opportunity for the entire school or grade level to gather in one space helps center the day and remind the entire school community about the why of Wellness. If money is a hurdle, try reaching out to your local parent organization (PTO/PTA) or Chamber of Commerce to see what members of your community could help with funding or volunteer their time.
Step 6: Create a Balanced Schedule
Creating space for students to disconnect means building a schedule that prioritizes presence over pace.
When planning your day, consider:
- Did you allow time for student reflection after each activity?
- Did you provide a lunch period long enough for students to eat mindfully and connect with peers without rushing?
- Did you build in breaks for staff and community volunteers to recharge?
- Did you include opportunities for quality structured play — organized games or activities that encourage movement and social interaction?
As much as we value disconnecting, we use technology for this part! Find an online platform that allows students to select workshop choices that align with their interests. Platforms like Sign Up Genius and Parent Square streamline the process: they give students voice and choice, automatically limit workshops when they fill up, and manage capacity in real time — saving organizers countless hours of manual tracking.
If an online platform is not able to be used, a paper and pencil option is clearly the way to go. Make sure to ask students to state their top three workshop choices. Allow yourself TONS of time to weed through the responses, and organize the workshops so not only the students get what they need, but the workshops have enough students to run
Encourage students to sign up for a variety of workshops - workshops should be in the areas of wellness that they feel connected to.
Step 7: Celebrate and Reflect
Feedback is essential. Allow students and staff an opportunity to share their opinions about the workshops they participated in. Also, allow the staff to provide feedback on how their workshop experience was, regardless of whether they ran a workshop or assisted a community member with theirs; their reflection of a presenter is important.
Questions to consider when creating the reflection form:
- What was your favorite workshop?
- What new skill did you learn?
- What healthy habit will you continue?
- What surprised you today?
- What workshop would you like to see next year?
Step 8: Keep Wellness Going!
The most successful Wellness Days do not end when the event is over, there is no ribbon cutting event, it continues with the school's commitment to wellness. When a school commits to celebrating wellness throughout the year, this day becomes the culmination of a year's look into what makes students healthy and well.
When wellness becomes part of a school’s culture rather than a single event, students will develop pillars that hold up. These pillars are habits, relationships, and the necessary resilience skills to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.
