Brien McMahon will end week with Climate Day
NORWALK — Brien McMahon High School is hosting its third annual “Climate Day” on Friday, an event that students and school officials said is about building a positive school climate rather than focusing on traditional academia.
Teachers who are passionate about certain topics run sessions in place of classes each year. Some of this year’s sessions include breathing and mindfulness, “be more positive” and play like a kid again.
“The point is really just to recognize the positive culture and climate of our school and to focus on building relationships amongst students and teachers,” said Kelsey LaPrad, climate committee member. She and other committee members plan the event each year and write the curriculum.
“Kids get excited when they can relate to a teacher in a different way other than being their teacher. This is a day they don’t want to miss,” she said.
A few years ago, state legislation required state high schools to organize a one-day anti-bullying event, PaPrad said. Brien McMahon school officials decided to repurpose the idea, and put a positive spin on it, thus adopting the Climate Day event.
This year it includes an assembly with a keynote speaker who does street art around Norwalk. LaPrad said the unnamed artist spreads subliminal messages about love through art.
Last year’s theme was “choose love” and this year’s theme is “love shows up.”
“Love can be present when you least expect it and the goal is for kids to realize, if someone is having a bad day, show love to them,” LaPrad said.
Principal Scott Hurwitz told parents in an email, “Climate Day is mandatory, and attendance will be taken. Teachers and other school leaders have chosen to forgo regular classes to provide students and staff the opportunity to build relationships and create an environment in which students can succeed. For students who have participated in the past, it is one of their favorite days of the year.”
It’s hard for kids not to focus on testing and homework, LaPrad said. Through this event, she said, they can step back and realize they can still be a kid.
Mason Lapine, a senior at the Center for Global Studies, which shares the same building with McMahon, created a website for students who sign up for the event.
“It felt good to help out and I’ve been advocating to do certain things for the school,” he said. One project he’s working on is an app that would allow students to view the all the school’s social media sites in one place.
Lapine has been to two Climate Day events.
“It’s important because kids should have a day to be able to relax and get together socially so they can reduce stress from academic work,” he said. “I believe kids that care are certainly stressed on a daily basis.”
He recalled participating in a relaxation session at a previous Climate Day with other students who sketched adult coloring books in a group setting.
“I think the point is to do exactly what I struggle with every day at school, which is reduce stress,” he said, “and to basically take a day off from having to go through the everyday life of being a high school student, which isn’t easy.”