The students at Suttons Bay take part in a senior project of their choosing, with some guidance from their teachers, during their final year at school.
The dynamic duo, Lexi and Katie, are best friends in real life and have impressive goals to accomplish in their senior year of high school. Their project idea in the homestretch of 12th grade?
A Wellness Day that focuses on the student body's mental, physical, and spiritual health with actual knowledge and practice they can use moving forward in life.
Many of the students at Suttons Bay have lofty goals for further education, ranging from nursing degrees, personal chefs, and psychologists. Lexi and Katie understand it's of the utmost importance to ensure that each student has a foundation of wellness knowledge to achieve their goals more effectively moving forward.
The Suttons Bay Public School's Wellness Day took place on February 9th, 2022 and it was a smashing success.
We asked Katie and Lexie why they wanted to do something like this for their senior project.
"We wanted to give them options and resources that they might not have known and to help them experience things they might not have tried. We've had a Wellness Day before, but we wanted to make it more interactive and immersive for the students this time."
They both stressed the importance of mental health, especially in 2022. We did some outside research, and the results speak for themselves.
"Students who take the time and effort to invest in their holistic well-being—physical, emotional, spiritual, and social—are more likely to reach their personal and academic potential," says Bill Fiala, Ph.D.
Many local businesses took part in the student-led programming who were sought out and asked to participate by Lexie and Katie themselves.
"I feel like we both stepped out of our comfort zones when we were talking to people. We had to call all of the businesses ourselves and pitch the idea. You never know if businesses will say yes or do things like that. But we felt good about it after it was done."
Nearly all of the businesses said yes to their plan and those who couldn't attend dialed in for a Zoom meeting to take part virtually.
The activities provided at Wellness Day included yoga meditations, art therapy, a smoothie bike from MSU, coloring, music therapy, weightlifting, and Bollywood dancing. The students loved each one and appreciated the knowledge they gained moving forward.
A few examples of the businesses that took part were; Oryana, ATI Physical Therapy, and an Essential Oils business.
We are incredibly proud to be a part of this vital community of Suttons Bay and look forward to seeing our high school students thrive on their next adventure.
Good job, Katie and Lexie!
Thank you to all the businesses who took part in the 2022 Suttons Bay Public Schools Wellness Day.