I have very few good things to say about online school at Westridge. My 8th grade year consisted of trying to stay awake during math while in my bed, airfrying dino nuggets during Speech and Debate, and turning off my camera during class so I could take walks around my neighborhood. Almost nothing about the situation was ideal, but there was one good thing that came from it—Wellness Wednesday.
Wellness Wednesday was an opportunity for students to take a break from their academic classes to attend class meetings and assemblies, catch-up on projects and homework, meet with teachers, and spend time focusing on their wellbeing in a time of crisis. Wellness Wednesday was one of the best initiatives Westridge could have introduced during the pandemic, and it never should have ended.
As the Westridge community continues to grapple with how we can best support student mental health, we need Wellness Wednesday. While I’m writing this as a satirical piece, Ms. Kassar, Mr. Baldwin (or Mr. Baldwin’s replacement who wants Westridge students to like them), if you see this, I’m not joking!
There are many reasons why Wellness Wednesday should be reintroduced to the Westridge community.
- Better Student Mental Health
Westridge always claims they do as much as they can to ensure all students’ wellbeing, so if they do actually care, bring back Wellness Wednesday. WW gives students an opportunity to catch up on work, meet with teachers, and focus on themselves. During quarantine, I would routinely take naps and bubble baths.
2. Save Money
With fewer students on campus, and with fewer days of work, Westridge can slash costs in half (or in ⅕) and reallocate that money to other parts of our school, like fixing the putrid smell coming from Rothenberg Building, ensuring more than one printer on campus works at a time, or hiring another Dean of BlaBlaBla!
3. We Already Have Lots of 4-Day Weeks
Just as student attention spans are now lower because of TikTok, Westridge has trained us to not make it through a full week by constantly having “Professional Development Days.” May as well make the four day weeks permanent and consistent.
4. The Commons Can Go Gourmet
With the extra day off, Chef Brandon and his Commons staff can expand their menu by cooking meals that require 24 hours or more of prep time. Soup dumplings, roast beef, fresh croissants, and even crock pot mac-and-cheese.
5. Sports Teams Can Condition
Even when school has a day off, Westridge sports are go, go, go. This would be the same idea. Wednesdays can be mandated sports days, so our teams can end up in at least 3rd place (no, Lacrosse in a league of three teams does not count. Flag Football too.)
