Sphere of Support: Health and Wellness on the Hilltop

A holistic focus on children’s growth and development is ingrained in Hackley’s core values. That extends to the health and wellness initiatives and programming on the Hilltop. After all, we espouse that “character is above intellect” and, as such, “that idea of who we are, how we treat others, how we make decisions, is all part of [health and wellness] at this school,” says Renee Pabst, Chair of Health Education.

Health and wellness at Hackley centers on five areas: emotional, social, cognitive, spiritual, and physical. The School strives to develop and present a curriculum that reflects and represents our students, while also providing them with opportunities to experience varying perspectives. Nutrition, physical and mental health, substance abuse prevention, bystander intervention, healthy relationships, social-emotional learning, and community building are at the heart of health and wellness at Hackley.

Building Character and Community

In the Lower School, teachers incorporate the Second Step social-emotional learning program with support from Lower School psychologist Dr. Amanda LeTard, who also coordinates the monthly “Snack & Share” series on Zoom and the character education program—this year’s virtues are thoughtfulness, appreciation, responsibility, and perseverance. Throughout the year, five assemblies highlight the virtues—a

Name That Virtue Gameshow written by Dr. LeTard and Roni Kanter, third grade teacher, kicked off the series this year. Teachers also incorporate the virtues into messages and meetings, and Lower School librarian Anna McKay creates booklists for families featuring titles connected to the virtues of focus. Optional activities and assignments are available to students, as well, and bulletin boards in the Lower School provide a visual reference.

“Second Step is a program that really helps build students’ skills related to growth mindset and goal-setting, problem-solving, emotion management, and empathy and kindness,” says Dr. LeTard. “This year, Mr. Kilgarriff, our technology teacher, is also working on pushing in to tie some of those topics to the digital space as well as the physical-interpersonal space. So, for our older students, we’re looking to talk with them about empathy and kindness in a developmentally thoughtful way, not only on the playground or in the classroom, but also in the digital space.”