Wellness Wednesday: The Stimulation of Holistic Development

In line with Mental Health month, Colegio San Agustin – Makati brings its students, teachers, and personnel a program dedicated to promoting a flexible, compassionate, and inclusive lifestyle at the time of the pandemic. Undoubtedly, the program was a contingent plan in response to the uncertainties of the pandemic in which the school has recognized. Mrs. Dorothy Trinidad, the high school’s Assistant Principal for Administration, introduces the newly implemented “Wellness Break” which ultimately seeks to stimulate one’s well-being in more integrated measures.

Prior to the official announcement of the program, Mrs. Trinidad conferred that they had initially devised a rendition of the wellness program which was conveniently named “Offline Day”, but received various reactions to the initiative. After “further reading and literature”, the terms well-being and wellness paved its way to becoming a proposition in hopes of relieving the stress associated with the ambiguity of the current predicament. “There were intensified efforts to push with the Wellness Break, and this was approved with our Rector and psychiatrist some time in early August,” said Mrs. Trinidad.

The Wellness Break program was finally announced in mid-August of this academic year, which had taken all students, parents, and teachers alike by surprise. “Aside from making sure that learning continues to happen, we have to ensure the well-being of the students because it is as important, if not most important, as academic learning,” conveyed Mrs. Trinidad. The objectives of this program do not only cater to students, but to all personnel as well. Furthermore, the program abides by one of its main purposes—inclusivity.

Consequently, like any other proposition, it must accommodate feedback for it to be developed and suited for the betterment of the people it’s intended to serve. Initial feedback is acquired from teachers due to their regular interaction with students, and generally, as it is being implemented until now, the program has become a good strategy in relieving the intensity of academic learning. In terms of calibrating modifications, it was elaborated that the school is prepared for any further evaluation to integrate some adjustments after a semester to assess whether it had served its purpose. Mrs. Trinidad hopes for this program to “continue to be used in the spirit it was designed.”

“It [Wellness Break] has noble purposes behind it and it was really designed for the well-being of the stakeholders, the students, and the personnel. Our well-being is necessary because we are in trying times,” continued Mrs. Trinidad on the purpose of the program. “It’s meant to reduce stress, to increase productivity, and boost brain development. Moreover, it hones well-being, not just in the physical sense, but also the spiritual, emotional, and social welfare.”

Nevertheless, the undeniable curiosity of what the program is actually for has been unrecognized until now. With the humility and insights from Mrs. Trinidad, she surmised the program to be the very reason on how we can be teachers, personnel, and students who can “perform better both in and out the classroom which can ultimately make us better individuals in a holistic sense.”