Well at the ’Ville

January 9 to 15 marked Lawrenceville’s inaugural Wellness Week, fostering student engagement in various wellness-focused activities, such as workshops and explorations. Lawrenceville’s Wellness Wheel, emphasizing physical, intellectual, and social well-being, laid the week’s structure. In addition to the Wellness Wheel, the organization behind Wellness Week came as a result of the combined efforts of the Dean of Students Office, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Tonita Balcolm, and the Wellness Council, which is led by Student Council Wellness Representative Najja King ’25. 

“The Dean of Students Office first proposed expanding Wellness Day into a week. They then collaborated closely with the Wellness Council to determine how to best structure and fill the week with meaningful activities and messages,” King elaborated. In addition, each day of the week corresponded to a specific facet of the wheel, additionally including various exploration opportunities for students that focused on wellness-related topics like stress management and self-discovery. 

One new initiative of the week that King noted was the implementation of the “Fuel Bar” in the Chae Atrium, where King explained, “After class, students can grab a snack that can help fuel a productive afternoon on their way to practice.” In addition to the Fuel Bar, Wellness Week has also seen the inclusion of new food and drink options in the dining halls, such as strawberry-infused water and yogurt bowls. King also highlighted the January 10 school-wide viewing of the documentary “Unguarded” as being the week’s “most impactful moment.” “Unguarded” follows the story of former NBA star Chris Herren and his struggles with  drug addiction, and the screening of the documentary was complemented with a visit by Chris Herren to campus on January 16. Overall, King viewed Wellness Week as a success and specifically cited its expansion into a week-long program as being beneficial. “Extending the focus to an entire week gives students more opportunities to prioritize their well-being, reflect on their habits, and learn strategies for maintaining balance in their lives,” King concluded.

Another key component of the week was the workshops that took place on Saturday, which aimed to incorporate dialogue about wellness as well as wellbeing-related activities such as slime-making and paper crane folding. 

“The inspiration behind the workshop came from a desire to give back to the community and to help invoke nostalgic childhood memories through the creation of slime,” one of the slime workshop’s leaders, Catarina Correa ’26, explained. Correa was pleased with how the workshop was received by its participants and found that the process of slime-making served “as a great method to raise awareness about the importance of finding time to de-stress. “The workshop was a great experience, and it just felt so nice to see just how a simple activity such as slime-making has the capacity to bring joy to so many people,” Correa concluded. 

While Miu Baholyodhin ’26 initially expressed skepticism about Wellness Week’s ability to engage students and faculty as well as its overall novelty, she found the week’s activities “to be very useful and a good way to meet with new people and to get outside your comfort zone.” Baholyodhin participated in a paper crane folding workshop hosted by the Japan Club and found the workshop to be incredibly relaxing. Following the conclusion of Wellness Week, it remains to be seen whether additional wellness-focused initiatives will take place this year, and if Wellness Week itself may become an annual tradition.