Wellness Programming for Students and Parents
At Rivers, we believe that research-based prevention programs promote healthy development by focusing on children and their main socializing environment—school. These programs are implemented in classroom settings, at school or grade-level assemblies, and through “opt-in” programming during students’ free time. Wellness programming encourages students to integrate accurate information with their personal and family values. Our aim is to strengthen connections between students and their parental figures as the primary sources of support in their lives, and to help students learn to access auxiliary support in appropriate ways.
Student Wellness Programming
• Middle School: programs on nutrition, healthy relationships, individual biological development, and substance education.
• Upper School: programs include the trimester-long 9th Grade Seminar course, grade-specific drug and alcohol education, and senior post-secondary transition programming.
Optional Student Wellness Programming
Because students and families come to Rivers with different skill sets, experiences, values, and areas of both expertise and room for growth, our Wellness curriculum includes a range of “opt in” programming options. These programs address topics including physical fitness and health, social-emotional wellbeing and mental health, and “life skills” education. This programming also includes psycho-educational group counseling options for students who want to engage with peers and licensed school adjustment counselors regarding topics that are meaningful to them on a personal level.
Parent/Caretaker and Family Wellness Programming
We offer “parent coffee” discussion groups with presentations by our visiting educators and community partners. Examples of parent coffee presenters include a consultant who teaches about substance use prevention and stress management, a community-based health educator with expertise on comprehensive sexuality education, and clinical psychologists who specialize in working with adolescents on issues such as anxiety, time management, and learning differences.
This year, we will also be piloting two new programs:
• Parent “roundtable” discussions on topics relevant to our families
• Parent book groups on a shared text that focuses on adolescent development
The vision for our roundtable discussions is that we provide opportunities for parents to come together to hear a brief “keynote” presentation on a topic of interest, such as parenting in the digital age or supporting the college transition for students with learning differences, and then to open up the floor for parent-to-parent discussion around related questions, concerns, experiences, and scenarios. Book groups will be piloted to facilitate learning and discussion of topics particularly relevant to the Middle and Upper School experiences. Please see calendar on main page for upcoming parents events.