The week before spring break, Lightridge hosted its fourth annual Wellness Week and Wellness Expo. The event featured week-long activities that occurred during the students’ lunch shifts, culminating with an Expo of activities during the extended advisory on the Friday of that week. The Wellness Week and Wellness Expo was timed to provide students with an outlet for stress during the final weeks before the end of the quarter.

The week was planned by the student organizations, Peer, Sources of Strength, and Pride.

Peer, a group that focuses on creating an uplifting school environment, hosted slime making and glitter bottle making on Monday. Pride, which focuses on LGBTQ issues, sponsored a friendship bracelet workshop on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Sources of Strength, whose mission is to improve and promote student mental help, provided students a period of tranquility and gardening, as students planted their own plants. Healing House, which was a big hit last year, once again made a reappeace on Thursday and allowed students time with therapy dogs.

On Friday, students were given the opportunity to attend the Wellness Expo, which consisted of teacher-led activities such as karaoke, bingo,and dancing among others.

The Expo has been a staple at Lightridge since its opening. Lightridge’s social worker, Jennifer McLemore said the event has “been her baby” and was originally started during the hybrid year in order to establish some normalcy during a hard time.

“ People felt very disconnected,” said McLemore, “and our school didn’t feel like a normal school year and so we felt that we wanted to do something that would sorta bring people together and feel normal.”

Since then, the Wellness Expo has not only focused on connecting students and improving their mental health, but has allowed them to see their teachers in a new light.

“We are whole human beings, we don’t teach English 24/7,” said English teacher and Peer sponsor Dana Durusu. She observed that Wellness Week allows students to connect, “ beyond ‘you have missing work, where is your missing work?’”

After the success of the one-day Wellness Expo during its first year, it not only made a comeback the next year but also included Wellness Week. Although the Expo was originally managed by McLemore and school counselors during its first year, Wellness Week and the Expo have since become more student-led through the involvement of Sources of Strength and Peer, and Pride.

Similar to last year, accompanying the activities during the Expo and Wellness Week, Sources of Strength, Pride and Peer hosted a fundraiser featuring one dollar grab bags filled with fidgets, journals, inspirational cards, and squishes.

The funds generated by the fundraiser continue to support the activities hosted by these groups during Wellness Week and the Expo for the following year.

Although this year’s fundraiser did not meet the goals set by the sponsoring clubs, it did make enough money to fund the week for next year.

Durusu said that overall the week was “really successful.” and McLemore stated that it is sure to come back next year in similar fashion.