xhale Breathe and

Inside the XHALE Room

If you can’t come to XHALE Club, XHALE can come to you. That’s the idea behind the XHALE Room, an online collection of thoughtfully curated resources, customized for the Clipper community. Geared to students and adults, visitors can find techniques to relax, guided mediations, activities that promote mindfulness, prayer and more. There’s even the XHALE Playlist to help one unwind, with selected music tracks by Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks and Harry Styles.

XHALE members created the online resource with some input from faculty. Access the XHALE Room by visiting www.xaverian.org/xhale.

Many high school clubs come and go. Gabby DiSalvo ’22 realized the extracurricular club she helped form had real staying power when she spoke to incoming freshmen at the Xaverian Orientation in March. While manning the table for XHALE — a club that aims to help students discover healthy and sustainable ways to reduce stress and anxiety — DiSalvo fielded questions and talked up the group to new Clippers. The feedback she received was validating. “This is just what I need for next year,” incoming students repeatedly said.

Xaverian XHALE Club began in 2018 and was originally called Breathe and Think (BAT). DiSalvo, along with Eleni Efthimiou ’22 and Sofia Borrello ’22, conceived the club as, “A space to manage stress, relax and be ourselves.” As DiSalvo explained, “There’s definitely a lot of pressure on high school students to strive and do so many things: get good grades, join extracurriculars, prep for college along with the additional challenges in our personal lives. We wanted to have a place to get rid of that stress.”

BAT didn’t take off initially. “We struggled,” DiSalvo admitted. “We had a hard time getting our name out there. We always had to explain it.” In 2019, the trio asked Spanish teacher Nancy Labrada to moderate the fledgling club. “I was very interested in what they were doing,” recalled Ms. Labrada, who was always looking for ways to apply social-emotional learning to her classroom. DiSalvo remembers that Ms. Labrada suggested the new name, XHALE. “The name reflected the mission and what we wanted to bring to Xaverian,” she recalled. “It was so clear in that moment that this could work.”

‘Perfect club for the time’

XHALE did work, especially when COVID-19 began and Xaverian pivoted to distance learning in March 2020. “What a perfect club for the time,” Ms. Labrada remembered. Members met online and to stay engaged, came up with a series of healthy habits to promote physical and mental well-being that was shared with the Xaverian community. XHALE began to attract more members, providing a space for students to connect while the entire city was on lockdown. “We found comfort, joking around, sharing what we were going through and what the new normal was,” said Ms. Labrada.

XHALE’s faculty moderator also noticed the emotional toll the pandemic was having on teenagers. “I realized I had to dig in a little deeper,” said Ms. Labrada. “I had to learn more about what drives us to this place of anxiety and how to unravel it.” She completed a six-week intensive course and was certified in facilitating mindfulness and social-emotional learning through the nonprofit, Breathe for Change. Ms. Labrada also holds a certificate in mediation in the classroom, a practice she teaches in and out of Xaverian.

Student-organizers, meanwhile, ran the club virtually when the 2020-2021 academic year started and school was a hybrid of in-person and remote learning. DiSalvo, who was born with a rare genetic muscular disorder, Myofibrillar Myopathy, opted for distance learning the entire year to minimize exposure and risk to her health. “I always strive to make sure everyone can be included as much as possible,” DiSalvo explained. The Staten Islander, who directed last year’s spring musical, Grease, runs the Instagram account @cooking.on.wheels which led to an appearance on the Rachael Ray Show, chose Xaverian in large part because of its welcoming and inclusive environment. “For me, it was really important to have XHALE virtual. Even if you couldn’t come to school, you could still be part of the club if you wished to.”

When in-person learning resumed for everyone in 2021-2022, XHALE continues its weekly meetings, now in-person. Activities can vary. Ms. Labrada might lead a guided meditation and breathing exercises. DiSalvo has shared cooking demonstrations. The group partnered with other extracurricular groups and learned how to crochet with the Knitting Club and translated emotions into artwork with the help of the Art Club. The group also held a roundtable discussion on anxiety and stress with Director of Counseling Meghan Woods.

Flexibility is the appeal

Participation can fluctuate especially since social distancing protocols eased, and the resumption of sports, extracurriculars and other obligations has left little free time for many students. Club members created the XHALE Room (see page 8), a set of resources Clippers can access anytime, anywhere. The flexibility of the club seems to enhance its appeal. “We have a core group of students who meet weekly, and we have students who drop in on an as-needed basis when exams are coming up or they are studying for the SAT,” said Ms. Labrada. “The fact that students are comfortable popping in is a real testament to the work the XHALE students are doing.”

DiSalvo, who now attends University of Connecticut, believes prospects for the club will only get better. “We’ve created a safe space where people know they can come,” she stated. “We want it to grow more and more to reach as many faculty and students as possible.”