Bronxville High School students built personal coping kits, met with local therapists and heard a keynote speech on Friday, Oct. 9, during the school's second World Mental Health Day.
Health education teacher Gillian McGovern organized the event with Be Bold leaders Amy Civale and Julia Hull, student leaders Dimitri Kedas and Mackenzie O'Gorman, and members of the school's HEART Club and Be Bold group, according to the district.
School psychologist Lauren Keschner brought local therapy centers to the event and led an activity where students assembled their own healthy coping kits. Students kept the kits for stressful moments.
The day also featured keynote speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez, a motivational speaker known for the "All In" rallying cry he delivered to the New York Giants before their 2012 Super Bowl championship run. Gonzalez encouraged students to be intentional, committed and present in all aspects of their lives, the district said.
McGovern said the day reinforced the value of mental health education and gave students healthy habits they can use beyond the school day, according to the district.
The event builds on last year's inaugural Health Fair, which McGovern and Keschner also organized. That event turned the school's front lawn into a wellness space with therapy dogs, yoga breathing sessions, rock painting and an inflatable obstacle course. Local organizations including NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health and the Bronxville Counseling Center provided resources at the first fair.
The PTA committees behind both events have since merged. BWell and the Bronxville Organization for Learning Differences, known as BOLD, now operate as a single committee called BBOLD, according to the Bronxville PTA. The combined group supports student well-being, learning differences and family resources across grades K through 12.
The programming comes as Westchester County ramps up youth mental health investment. The county's Department of Community Mental Health received a $4 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to build a coordinated support system for children and teens with serious behavioral health needs. The four-year grant funds a program called THRIVE Westchester, which aims to connect schools, families and healthcare providers through a single referral process.
The PTA's B*BOLD committee has an upcoming event, "It Takes a Village," scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, in the middle school/high school library. That session will feature Christine Dowd, director of pupil personnel services, and Aaron Kind, director of counseling services.
