School of the Week: Howard High School makes a difference through wellness initiatives
School of the Week: Howard High School makes a difference through wellness initiatives
Howard High School teaches important lessons about self-care.
MACON, Ga. — Our school of the week’s making a difference in the lives of students and staff through wellness initiatives.
Howard High School teaches important lessons about self-care because they take wellness seriously.
Throughout the year, yoga sessions are held to help with the students’ and staffs’ well-being.
Ellie Farriba, the ESOL teacher, started incorporating wellness into the curriculum during the 2023-2024 school year.
“We want students and teachers to thrive, not just survive,” she said.
In addition to her yogi skills, she’s a social-emotional-learning facilitator at the school, too.
“I came upon this course called Breathe For Change and their motto is ‘changing the world one teacher at a time,'” Farriba said.
The teacher explained she started to incorporate what she learned through Breathe For Change’s training last year. Its website claims it’s “the world’s only Mindfulness, SEL, and Yoga Teacher Training created by educators for educators.”
“One of my personal goals is to focus on social and emotional training for our students because we want them to learn how to advocate for themselves,” Terry Carmoney said.
Carmoney is the Special Education/ACCESS teacher at Howard High.
Throughout the week, he invites Farriba into his class so they can practice meditation and yoga together.
“I’ve been incorporating social-emotional work strategies and teaching into our classrooms, into Mr. Carmoney’s classroom,” Farriba said. “We’ve also had chair yoga after school for the teachers and students.”
Assistant Principal Chiquita Dinkins said she loves to spend time with the school’s wellness club.
She said her favorite activity is chair yoga because the stretching relieves tension.
“Everything just melts away,” Dinkins said.
“People have problems or situations they need to work out, and they need to find a positive way to express themselves,” Senior Chloè Culp said. “I think this club is the way to go.”
Culp said she felt like her mental health was “depleating” in middle school, so she started taking better care of her self. When she did that, she explained, life became easier.
This year she’s the president of the wellness club.
Former President Niyati Davey returns to her high school occasionally to participate in the yoga sessions.
When she returned to school in person after the pandemic, she said she felt anxious.
“Ms. Farriba came in the clutch and told me to take deep breaths,” Davey said. “I’m really thankful for her and this club.”
“This is is one of the best things that’s come into our community to build relationships with the staff and the students, among the staff and the students,” Carmoney said.
Congratulations to 13WMAZ’s School of the Week: Howard High School!
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