Farmingdale School District Launches Wellness Site
Farmingdale School District understands the importance of overall wellness. A students’ physical, mental and emotional well-being impacts their academic performance and quality of life. Farmingdale’s Wellness Committee, led by Dr. Joan Ripley has created a new fully interactive and engaging website for students, faculty and parents. During this particularly challenging time of uncertainty it is extremely important that the district work together with its community to ensure wellness for all.
“The goal is to support district initiatives around the health and wellness of students and staff,” said Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Dr. Joan Ripley. “We have designed the website to support our students and families from pre-k to 12th grade. We hope that parents and students will take some time to explore these resources.”
The Farmingdale School Districts has hosted several events over the years to promote healthy eating, mindfulness, mental wellness and exercise. Due to COVID-19 protocols, in-person wellness events this year are not possible. The Wellness Committee saw this as an opportunity to provide the same quality resources at a heightened capacity thanks to the reach of virtual platforms. The Wellness site boasts a Virtual Calming Room. A place for students, families and staff to find tools and strategies for managing emotions and feelings while building resilience during this pandemic. The Calming Room features animal webcams, breathing and relaxing techniques and soothing nature sounds.
In addition, the Wellness site offers mental health resources for students of all ages. It provides crisis links and helplines along with tips for fostering wellness at school and at home. You can also find articles about talking to kids about COVID-19. The site also provides the contact information for all the Farmingdale School District’s social workers and psychologists.
"It will be a great resource for the many people who are struggling to cope with all of life's many challenges,” said Superintendent Paul Defendini. “This is yet another example of Dalers rising to meet the challenges that have been laid at our feet despite difficult circumstances."
The Farmingdale School District has had a Wellness committee for over 20 years. Members from a diverse set of backgrounds sit on this committee and provide a variety of perspectives and ideas on how to meet the social-emotional needs of our students. Many committee members are also active in other capacities within the district and hold positions on the Board of Education, the PTA, are teachers or principals, and parents.
Click HERE to visit the Daler's Wellness Site