The infrequency of Wellness Wednesdays at Daniel Hand High School has become a topic of debate within the students and teachers as to whether or not Wellness Wednesdays still achieve their intention of bettering the mental health of students and teachers.
Since adding Wellness Wednesdays into Daniel Hand High School's schedule four years ago, they have become much shorter and much less frequent. DHHS’s once-weekly breaks have since mostly been replaced with advisory classes and been shortened to 23 minutes.
Originally, Wellness’ were introduced shortly after Covid and were intended to give students a break from school work. The wellness break typically lasted an hour and both teachers and students were encouraged not to grade papers, do homework, or anything school related.
“Wellness Wednesday doesn’t do its job for teachers,” Mr. John Hajus, math teacher said.
Hajus said that he thinks Wellness Wednesday is beneficial for students and he knows that students enjoy it.
“It should be at least 30 minutes,” Hannah Staron, a senior at DHHS, said. “If it’s gonna remain 20 minutes, it should be more frequent.”
Staron said that if the point of Wellness Wednesday is to improve mental health, the break should be longer.
“Wellness Wednesday should be every other week” Claire Campbell, a freshman at DHHS said,
Campbell said that Wellness Wednesdays should be longer. She said that there is not enough time to hang out with her friends, and compared to the amount of schoolwork students are given, they deserve a longer break.
While “it’s a nice break and something to look forward to,” Staron also mentions how “Wellness Wednesday does not affect my mental health.”