The Wellness Fair at Pivot North Bay, held in late October, attracted many Pivot students to attend and learn about mental health. Among them, 8th grade student Addison Stine, 13, who has been engaged in remote and independent learning at North Bay since August 2020, visited workshops led by counselors and tables filled with mental health resources from community organizations.

At the fair, Addison learned that wellness and mental health are about improving yourself. “It is important to have a healthy mind in order to have a happy and successful life,” Addison said. “Mental health means feeling good about yourself and your life.”

Through fun fair activities, Addison explored the importance of taking breaks and setting aside personal time to improve mental health. “During the coping bingo activity, I learned more things that I could do for my mental health like exercising, going for a walk outside, and listening to music,” she added.

The art station also gave Addison tools that she said she’s sure to take home. “I want to incorporate doing art more often to help me when I am stressed or just to take time for myself,” she told her counselor, Jasmine Glasper-Nuñez, who described Addison as hardworking and an excellent advocate for herself.

Addison traveled an hour to attend the Wellness Fair, which, in addition to coping bingo and arts activities, featured a social therapy dog, exercise stations, and a variety of games that were well worth the journey to North Bay’s Resource Center in Santa Rosa.

“My favorite part of the Wellness Fair was our community organization station where local community groups were sharing with students the different activities and services that Pivot students could access,” Glasper-Nuñez said. “During the pandemic, it was especially difficult to find in-person support so having these resources come to campus to connect with students and share their offerings was really special and I think it inspired students to connect with the community.”

Pivot Charter Schools also provides wellness resources and support online at the Pivot Virtual Counseling Office.