FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 880 S. Lemon Avenue
February 3, 2016 Walnut, CA 91789
Contact:
Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources
(909) 595-1261 ext. 31204
Diamond Bar High offers a passport to wellness
DIAMOND BAR, CA—Striving to support the wellness needs of students, Diamond Bar High opened doors to a new Wellness Center on January 29.
The program offers an additional layer of support services and personal management strategies including stress and anxiety relief, progressive relaxation exercises, and guided meditation designed to help students reduce stress.
“We are excited to embark on this new chapter of student support services in the Walnut Valley Unified School District,” said assistant principal John Terry.
Last year, peer counseling advisor Sandy Davis began researching and developing the tailor-made program for the school. She now serves as its coordinator.
“The goal is to teach our students how to develop social skills and ways to cope with everyday problems in appropriate and healthy ways,” she said.
Trained peer counselors are always available in the center to assist students during the school day from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. with the goal of developing healthy strategies for personal management.
“Our eleven student wellness interns have been very committed to their training and are excited to be of service to their peers,” she said. “This is another positive outcome of the development of this program which includes the wellness internship opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing career paths in counseling, psychology or other health-related fields.”
Each intern, called wellness consultants, has at least two years of experience in peer counseling.
“We want students to feel welcome to drop by and talk anytime they need to,” said senior and wellness consultant Aliya Simjee.
Davis wants Diamond Bar High’s 3,000+ students to discover that wellness is a continuous process that requires making proactive, healthy choices now in order to be happy, balanced, and successful.
“There’s more to it that exercise and nutrition,” she said.
“The wellness center has been something that has been long-needed for Diamond Bar High School and its students. It's a one-of-a- kind program that enables students to take charge of their own wellness," says senior Geovon Thomas.
Davis’ goals for the program include securing a therapy dog and forging a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, which would bring additional resources and expertise.
The Wellness Center kicked off its grand opening with a "Passport to Wellness" full-day event with ribbon cutting, 20 community vendors, fun activities, student performances, demonstrations, and wellness center tour. Students received stamps on their wellness passports from vendors to vie for raffles prizes, including Disneyland tickets.
The wellness fair also included a performance by a Beatles tribute band, demonstrations by the robotics team, freshman Renny Gong, a nationally ranked Ping-Pong player, and over twenty therapy dogs from Pet Prescriptions Team.
“We included a variety of student performances to show that meeting social, emotional, and sometimes spiritual wellness is often what we are passionate about - our hobbies and interests. Being involved in what we love to do helps us to remain balanced and healthy,” said Davis.
The Wellness Center utilizes a seven-dimension model (physical, intellectual, occupational, cultural, social, emotional, and spiritual) to “Empower Student Wellness From Within.”
"It is important that our students learn to take responsibility and ownership of their own wellness choices," said Davis.
“It is my genuine hope that our students will pro-actively embrace this balanced approach to wellness because ultimately, this will lead them to authentic self-fulfillment and success.”
Shown:
Student interns lead tours during grand opening of the Diamond Bar High Wellness Center.
Diamond Bar High celebrates the grand opening of a new Wellness Center.
Diamond Bar High students joined demonstrations held during the Passport to Wellness fair.