Grace Holistic Center for Education (GHCFE), prioritizes mental wellbeing in their dynamic
whole child approach to education and takes a pro-active approach to suicide prevention.
The adolescent years can be a challenging time filled with emotional ups and downs,
affecting not just students but also their families and educators. It’s important to recognize
that while many may interpret these emotional changes as typical adolescent behavior,
depression—one of the most common mental health conditions—is increasingly being
identified at earlier ages. Untreated depression can lead to serious consequences, including
a heightened risk of suicide and a rise in self-injury among youth. Given these concerns, we
are committed to taking proactive measures.
GHCFE has incorporated a “suicide awareness and prevention” program into its
“Mindfulness” course for 7 th – 12 th grade learners. The focus of this program is to increase
awareness and students’ knowledge of suicide risk and depression. Our goal is to help
students identify signs of depression and suicide in themselves and their peers. It is also
important for our students to understand how to appropriately act once they see the signs,
and how to have a conversation about it, and how to get help when needed. Many people
think suicide prevention is an individual thing and don’t know the best way to support a
person in need, but research shows that suicide awareness education reduces suicide rates
amongst adolescents. The program will help students identify the warning signs, how to
support or talk about it, and when to act when help is needed.
Students will cover this material during their weekly “Mindfulness” class this month during
the month of September in honor of Suicide Prevention month.
Mindfulness at GHCFE – A Key Component to our Whole Child Approach to
Education
GHCFE’s mission is to further the illumination of the human spirit. This endeavor is pursued
by interweaving mind, body, spirit, and academics as an interconnected, interdependent
system. One of the ways we achieve this is with our Mindfulness curriculum.
Mindfulness class is a key component of our curriculum for all student’s pre-K through 12 th
grade. Mindfulness is defined as being completely present in the moment one is currently experiencing. Practicing mindfulness can positively affect all other executive functioning.
The benefits of practicing mindfulness are:
● Reduced stress levels
● Improved health
● Improved working memory
● Reduction in anxiety
● Better self-regulation (self-control)
Resulting in students being increasingly better at identifying the feeling they are
experiencing and responding to them appropriately; increasing ability to focus and tune out distraction; lastly being able to regulate their responses to stressful situations.
At GHCFE mindfulness is taught through the practice of yoga, weekly mindfulness class and structured learning activities, as well as ongoing individual student check-ins with our team of social work interns.
By integrating mindfulness into the curriculum, GHCFE helps students develop essential life skills such as self-awareness, emotional regulation, and stress management. These skills are crucial for creating a supportive and inclusive school environment, and help give students the tools they need for their social emotional health and wellbeing.
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