The end of the semester is a time for excitement, but with final projects and midterms looming, it can also be a time for stress. Luckily, the week of December 9 was Self-Care Week at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central). During this week, all Central students engaged in activities and workshops intended to promote self-care as a regular practice – a tool that will carry them into adulthood.” The general goal is to help our students learn the importance of taking care of themselves, physically and mentally, and to understand how doing so positively impacts every other part of their life,” said Central’s school psychologist, Dr. Ariella Gettenberg, who coordinated events for this week.
“Self-care often requires us to do things we don’t want to do – going to sleep on time or stopping work at a reasonable hour. But the goal with Self-Care Week is to teach these skills early in fun ways so that later, students can take on the more mundane tasks that are necessary for self-care.” In keeping with the 2024-25 school year’s theme of courage, the theme for this year’s Self-Care Week is “The Courage to Try New Things.”
Along with some more familiar, comforting self-care tactics – mindfulness workshops, a school-wide trip to the American Dream Mall – were new initiatives, like a Laughter Games Workshop with performer Debbie Hersch, and initiatives that posed a bit of a challenge, like technology-free periods. The week’s events gave students a comfortable environment in which to discover their boundaries and, if they feel brave enough to do so, nudge those boundaries in new directions.
“There’s a lot of research that supports the idea that trying new things provides benefits to mental health,” Dr. Gettenberg said. “Last year, for instance, we did a whole month of weekly challenges involving not using technology, and the participation was great. So many students got involved. Tech awareness is an important part of self-care – the goal is to be fully present in the moment.”
Self-Care Week is a wildly popular annual event – a positive experience with an impact that will be felt for years. “We’re hoping that these events will spark meaningful conversations among students and faculty about well-being,” Dr. Gettenberg added. “And we’ll follow up to ensure that self-care remains a part of students’ lives.”
Other milestones marking the end of the semester include Chanukah festivities, midterms, and the YUHSG Dinner of Tribute, which will be held at the Sephardic Temple of Cedarhurst on January 13.
