On November 9, 2021, Sources of Strength (SOS) executed a plan–a month in the making–called the “Wellness Project.” 

This project was going to be a big comeback. We just left a nasty pandemic and morale is low, both among the student body and the members of Sources of Strength. We need something strong, something that would be memorable, something that would ease the tension from the roller coaster of the year.

Our head adult supervisor, Andrew Scrivo, suggested a wellness day, a day we could take time out of our lives and focus on the simpler things; running, writing, meditating, and playing games were all things that were brainstormed and were included in the project. With the help of our wonderful adult supervisors and special guests, the project was formed! Sadly, we had to cut it down to an hour and a half on a Tuesday morning, but hey, that’s better than nothing! 

Speaking to Mr. Scrivo, our program director, he said, “I thought it was a good opportunity to bring adults who wanted to support kids into the building.” I asked him how he wanted this to go, and in response, he listed his goals: “I had three goals: I wanted to connect kids with common interests who normally wouldn’t meet. I wanted to get kids to see adult faces that could support them, and finally, I wanted to give people a break and make them realize self-care is important.” 

After speaking with our program director, I decided to hit the halls of Seward High School and ask them for their feedback. Freshman Keira Dixon said, “It was fine, really relaxed, which was nice.” Sophomore Oliver Dixon added, “Pretty good, nice and chill in there just kinda hung out.” Adventuring even further out, I pestered the third-hour library PLC. Sophomore Sam Insalaco praised it as an “opportunity to take a break from school life and normal responsibilities.”

I asked Mrs. Cronin how she felt about this day, and she said, “ It was fantastic! It was also very challenging to not do work because there was just so much that needed to be done and not enough time. It was so wonderful to take time for myself.” I asked if there was anything else she wanted to add to the article, and she had this:  “I would like to say, thank you very much to Mr. Scrivo for arranging this and to all the volunteers who came in and donated their time to this wellness day.” 

To end my very first article, I want to say something from the heart. Thank you to all the volunteers who sacrificed their time for the students of Seward High School and their well-being. I would also like to send an especially big thank you to Andrew Scrivo, who worked so hard to make this day happen for us.

Signing off, 

Aaron Smith