Led by Mr. Ruben, Canyon High School’s Wellness Center is known to be a safe space for students who may need extra support for their mental well-being. Beyond that, it’s also a place for students who are struggling socially and want a quiet place to hang out and relax during brunch and lunch. Lucky for us, I got to interview Mr. Ruben to get insight into what goes on in the center and found out a lot more about it.
The Wellness Center, also referred to as Caring 4 Cowboys, offers a variety of services including “drop-in support, individual/group counseling, mindfulness classes, wellness events/activities, workshops/wellness forums, empowerment conferences, game days, and resources for self-care.”
I also wanted to see what a typical day looked like in the center. Mr. Ruben said, “A day inside of our Caring 4 Cowboys Wellness Center primarily focuses on student support (check-ins from Google request forms completed by students) and additional mental health resources and accesses via inside and outside of the Center (brunch and lunch time events). We also include classroom visits and educational presentations aligning with student performance and success throughout the school year.”
Mental health and self-care, especially for high school students, are not topics that are talked about enough. Mr. Ruben explained, “Students can recognize challenges of life which have highs and lows, and high school can have a huge impact on their health and well-being.”
A self-care routine can be a beneficial tool for students struggling. Mr. Ruben shared a resource about self-care that explains, “Creating a self-care routine is clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, increase happiness, and more. It can help students adapt to change, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks.”
Creating a routine can be as simple as getting enough sleep, taking a bath, eating healthy, or just making time for yourself to do the things you love.
Although some students recognize the importance of getting support for their mental health, some may be intimidated to check out our Wellness Center. However, Mr. Ruben promises, “We welcome our fellow students, their classmates, and our amazing staff on campus to share their experiences and support for our Wellness Center. We see our students frequently introduce our Wellness Center to their peers/friends as a space to access whenever they may be in need.”
Our Wellness Center is a relatively new addition to our campus, only being open as of August 2019. However, Mr. Ruben has strong goals for the future of the center: “Our goals for this year include remaining strong in partnering with many of our programs, which are dedicated to helping connect our students to our community; we will continue to have monthly school news networking events. Be on the lookout for newsletters, flyers, and classroom visits to enhance your well-being this school year.”
If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the Wellness Center on campus! They do a wonderful job making sure students feel like they have somewhere to go and are appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Ruben, and our Wellness Center as a whole, for all you do!!!
