At Hill, students are constantly balancing academics, co-curriculars, and countless other deadlines. Busy Hill students often face mounting pressure during these times, both internally and externally, leading to stress. Activities on campus bring students together during stressful periods of time and foster joy and togetherness.
As we approach the end of fall term, many students face exams, essays and final projects while sixth formers complete college applications. It is therefore to manage our mental health and take time off for a break. The student activities department and Student Life Association (SLA) work on providing fun activities, which range from exam pop-ups like a coffee bar and donuts, to weekend trips to study spaces. This year without fall term finals, LaMarca, the director of student activities said, “We’re focusing on keeping it a calm weekend, especially after Lawrenceville by offering activities on a smaller scale.” She also explained that Lawrenceville weekend is like the “light at the end of tunnel for fall athletes” and serves as a brief reprieve after a long fall where students take a much-needed break.
As a head coach, an advisor, and a dorm parent, LaMarca expressed the importance of reminding the kids that “it’s okay to take a break, take a step back.” It’s easy to get overwhelmed without realizing because of high-achievement goals in many areas.
Similarly, Mark Agnew, school clinician, also told the students that “procrastination is not always a bad thing.” The key is to work at the right pace for you and to maintain a healthy balance.
Faculty constantly check-in with students and encourage them to engage in abundant opportunities here. With SAMH and counseling department, the discussion on mental health is much more prevalent than in past years. The discussions often revolved around the importance of remaining open, continuing conversations, and reaching out for help and support all the time if needed. Many faculty work on sharing parts of their lives and finding common ground with students, even sharing their own experiences with stress and their coping mechanisms. We don’t have to have it all figured out.
Especially for upper formers, at a place where academic excellence and college is so important, there is an ongoing competition, whether directly spoken of, between students and pressure put on everyone. The counselling department shared seeing many kids struggling under pressure, either overly anxious or burnout, and worked with Hill students to build an awareness for mental health and to share coping strategies. SAMH invited inspiring speakers over the years, including our fall term speaker Kaleb Joseph addressing being truthful and seeking help on Oct. 3.
“The community has done a great job at moving the taboo around mental health,” Agnew said. “It feels good to be a resource that people aren’t afraid to use on campus.”
The community strives for everyone to be their best, and keep everyone in a good place. He advocated that we should reduce the competitiveness of academic and find ways to spot children struggling with mental health. We can all do a part by being an active and caring member of the community. Specifically to sixth formers: strive for the college you really want to go and take care in this stressful time.