St. Felix, Wabasha, Is a Peace of Mind School

Submitted by ERIC SONNEK

Like all schools, St. Felix Catholic School serves students and families who are dealing with anxiety, fear, and depression. Across the state, 92% of Catholic school principals identified the need for more time from school counselors in order to respond. Thanks to the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE), we’ll be able to better serve our school community with mental health and wellness resources through its Peace of Mind initiative.

St. Felix Catholic School is one of 21 local Catholic schools in this three-year Peace of Mind Partner School Initiative that will help us meet the needs of our school community through specific instruction and individualized solutions with support from CSCOE’s partner, Dr. Jules Nolan, and her team at Phoenix School Counseling. The goal: children and adults will gain emotional confidence and grow in competence to handle life’s stressors, big and small, in healthy ways.

As a Peace of Mind Partner School, we will benefit from:

• An additional day per week of school counseling services;

• Specialized training;

• A grant to host a middle school experience that grows connections between students and parents;

• Family resources such as live presentations, webinars, hand-outs and recommended digital apps to build practical skills and learn new strategies.

We are grateful for CSCOE’s support in providing fresh perspectives and concrete tools to bolster health and balance for everyone in our Catholic school community, and we thank our staff members and families for their partnership.

We are so grateful for our community who continues to gather for our annual Christmas Play. Year after year, they are giving new students a chance to spread their wings.

- Principal Eric Sonnek

If you would like to chat about Peace of Mind or hear more about the initiative, please contact Mr. Eric Sonnek at St. Felix Catholic School to see how the benefits of the Peace of Mind program have helped St. Felix Catholic School and how they can possibly help your school.

To learn more about Peace of Mind, visit https:// cscoe-mn.org/initiative/peace-of-mind/ Eric Sonnek is the principal of St. Felix School in Wabasha.