LinC Day: Focus on Wellness

On the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 2, the sound of waves filled the winter air.

 

“I have never been in here,” a Fifth Former marveled. “Is there actually water in that thing?” She and a couple dozen of her formmates were standing next to the rowing tank off the Matthes Cage. While girls crew co-coach Deb Vo instructed those trying to stroke for the first time, her assistant coaches walked the deck, adjusting hand and elbow positions.

 

“It looks so easy, but it’s so technical,” Athletic Director Dick Muther told Glory Stephen-Wangboje ’23 as the pair of them observed. Behind them, out in the Cage, some students tried out the rock-climbing wall while others played Spikeball, soccer, and cornhole.

 

“Really?” said Stephen-Wangboje, who runs track and plays football. Then, at the first opportunity, he climbed into a seat and found out along with the rest of his “new crew” just how right Muther had been. He wasn’t alone in his newfound appreciation for the skill the sport requires.

 

“This is so hard!” the girl behind him exclaimed.

 

The rowing tank was just one option at one of four stations students rotated through by form in 30-minute stints on the Winter LinC Day, which focused on wellness and offered a welcome break from the usual routine to relax or try something new. By the time the Fifth Form filtered into the AFC, they’d already partaken in a Chapel service that included meditation and enjoyed their choice of broomball, puzzles, or yoga at the Hockey Center. In the Friedman Community Center, LinC leaders served up tips and resources for physical and mental well-being as well as time management.

 

The library hummed with a different intensity than usual as students filled nearly every nook and cranny to play chess, Uno, and other games — and to color. Some furry St. Paws friends were on hand, too, to help lower heart rates and bring out the smiles.

 

The residential life LinC curriculum is designed to help students become knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and contributing members of society. Three student-initiated, student-led LinC Days held each year are important facets of the curriculum, which also includes classes for Third and Fourth Formers and the Fifth and Sixth Form Seminar. The Fall Term’s LinC Day was a collaboration between LinC leaders and the student leaders of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and LGBTQIA+ affinity group.

 

The Winter Term LinC Day ended with a second Chapel full of gratitude for the morning spent learning about self-care and, in some cases, getting to know new areas of the campus. “Take a moment to breathe and appreciate what’s around you,” LinC leaders urged, before concluding the day with a journaling exercise.

 

In the silence, as the School community scribbled answers to the writing prompts, the echo of the morning Chapel’s meditation mantra reverberated: May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be peaceful. May you be safe.