Among the many tables and student displays at the Sept. 11 State of the Schools event in Chardon were two with a very similar theme — Hilltopper Minds Matter and Sources of Strength.
Among the many tables and student displays at the Sept. 11 State of the Schools event in Chardon were two with a very similar theme — Hilltopper Minds Matter and Sources of Strength.
“Hilltopper Minds Matter, or HMM, tries to end the stigma with mental health because high-schoolers have a hard time talking about their mental health. So, we try to like, build connections and create a positive environment for everyone,” Chardon High School junior Shelby Spence explained.
As well as hosting interpersonal activities such as games, HMM also organizes events such as raffles and candygrams, she said.
That year’s graduating class started the program when they were sophomores, said junior Haidyn Bunker, adding it has been running for three or four years.
It’s grown every year, she said.
“It’s a great thing. A lot of students like it,” she said. “Our battle of the classes we do every year. It brings the whole school together, all the grades.”
Meanwhile, Chardon Middle School had its own mental-health-focused program.
“We are presenting the Sources of Strength, which is a group of different things that help you in the real world,” sixth-grader SJ Moore explained.
At the students’ table was a poster listing out each strength — generosity, spirituality, health activities and physical health, mentors, positive friends, family support and mental health.
A student’s strengths might provide students support to get through a difficult time, or just be something they do because they like doing it, said seventh-grader Liam Wludyga,
“We have a little bit in each of the buildings now,” staff member Kate Collins said. “We started it at the middle school and it’s gonna grow a little bit each year.”
The program is going into its third year, she said.
“Our focus really is, what do we lean on?” she explained. “We’re focused on the positive, building up those strengths and really focusing on building connections and a positive culture in our buildings.”
