Penquis Valley students experience the power of positive choices
MILO — Penquis Valley High School students had the opportunity to put the pens, pencils, books and laptops away for a day and instead took part in a morning of health-related workshops and games in the afternoon.
Designed around making positive choices and being the change they want to see in the world, the 170-plus students and their teachers enjoyed a mental health day during Power of Positive Choices Day on Friday, March 25.
“It’s all geared toward substance use prevention, tobacco, alcohol (prevention) and mental health — the whole day,” said Northern Light Mayo Hospital Community Health Coordinator Jennifer McKenna during the middle of the morning as she walked between various sessions taking place across the building.
She said that after hearing from students, organizers worked multiple months to come up with a day of no classes for both mental health and fun activities.
McKenna and Northern Light Health community health specialist Bree Clayton said Power of Positive Choices Day developed from their work with Positive Action Teams at both Penquis Valley High School and Middle School — as well as at SeDoMoCha Middle School and discussions with Northern Light Mayo Hospital Director of Community Outreach Hillary Starbird who works with the Positive Action Team at Northern Light Mayo Hospital and Piscataquis Community Secondary School.
“We just go in and talk about prevention, working on mental health, prevention of tobacco, alcohol and substances and we plan activities with them,” McKenna said. She said the day was funded in part by a Drug-Free Communities grant, including T-shirts for everyone.
STUDENT ARTWORK — Among the sessions during Power of Positive Choices Day at Penquis Valley High School in Milo on March 25 was canvas art. Students took part in morning programs and afternoon games to learn about alternative strategies for stress management, work together to improve their school environment, and have fun.
The event was sponsored by Northern Light Mayo Hospital, Penquis, Community Health and Counseling Services and the Helping Hands with Heart Collaborative.
Through their weekly meetings, McKenna and Clayton heard from students about their need for a mental health day to help them learn how to cope with their struggles and relax with their peers.
“Today’s just awesome because we get to make that connection between mental health and substance use to really get them the tools that they need for the future,” Clayton said. “We want to make sure they know the resources in the area as well as have the mental health skills on their own or know who to reach out to if they are in need of something.”
McKenna said many of the day’s workshops could help direct students to community mental health and substance abuse prevention resources. She said organizations such as Community Health and Counseling Services, Helping Hands with Heart, Options, Partners for Peace, Penquis and Rape Response Services were among those taking part.
“They get to see every workshop, every 30 minutes they are rotating,” McKenna said about the morning schedule. Programs included “Finding Joy,” “Everything Mental Health and a Donut,” “Sexual Harrassment & Bystander Intervention,” a “Prevention Cafe” with hot cocoa, trivia, yoga and artwork.
PAT members had presentations on vaping, alcohol, mental health awareness and substance misuse. A professionally printed brochure on vaping was developed, as well as student PowerPoints on topics such as bullying to share with their peers.
“Here we have Zumba and positive self-talk and then we have social, emotional learning with CHCS and they’re doing an activity with a ball and asking the kids a couple of questions to keep them engaged,” McKenna said about gym activities. “It’s mostly about teamwork and different things like that.”
Clayton said that in “Everything Mental Health and a Donut,” staff from Penquis helped students develop a plan “if you’re experiencing X, Y, Z, what is a good coping strategy you can use and a doughnut because who doesn’t like doughnuts.”
McKenna said Community Health and Counseling Services, through its Strength for Maine program, donated paint and canvases for art. Students lifted cups of paint and allowed it to drip slowly to cover the canvas in various colored swirls.“It’s a way to relieve stress and relax,” she said.
Students could take part in meditation/yoga sessions in the library, “for some quiet time because kids never get to do that kind of thing,” McKenna said.
Power of Positive Choices Day provided participants with the opportunity to make calming jars. “We do have some heavy topics, so it’s good to have those art pieces,” McKenna said.
Workshops were voluntary, as students could instead choose to head down to the homework cafe.“For any student, if they were in a workshop that was too heavy they have a place where they can just go and decompress,” McKenna said.
“All the teachers have the morning and afternoon off from their classes,” she said. “Some are just relaxing and some are getting caught up on work. Some are participating, and then the afternoon is going to be completely about games. We’re going to play soccer in the gym from 1 to 1:30 with the teachers and the students.”
“We’re all in this together trying to help the youth, ” McKenna said. She said the Maine Highlands Investment Trust and Helping Hands with Heart also helped fund the day.
McKenna said area businesses agreed to donate gift cards for teachers, “Just to say thank you for all that you do because teachers are frequently forgotten.”