On October 17th, 2023 San Dimas High School was supposed to host a Mental Health Day to educate and acknowledge students on important factors of Mental Health. Due to recent events, this day has been moved to later in February, replacing Career Day. Many Saints and staff wonder why this special event was postponed. 

Mr. Flowers, San Dimas High School’s mental health adviser, ran the event and has been planning this since the end of the 2022-2023 school year. This day was planned to seek students needing assistance for mental health issues or if students just needed to find a safe place in San Dimas High School. Mr. Flower says “Mental Health has only recently been introduced into school settings. Education, math, and science have always been a priority and I think that sometimes mental health is a priority, but it’s not as much of a priority as maybe some other things that exist in school”. The mental health center is a new concept for San Dimas, where students go to relieve stress, talk about their feelings, and find comfort in each other and has recently been developing into a more acceptable environment for students. 

Although, Mr. Flowers was not the only person advising this day. Other teachers and staff members contributed their classroom, their time, and their efforts to this event, such as Mrs. Zuniga, another one of our mental health specialists who helped to illustrate her perspective of the story. Mrs. Zuniga says the day was planned to “Have a day filled with enrichment activities presented by different professionals from the mental health community”. Following these presenters, the topics of mental health were supposed to grow knowledge,  awareness, and normalize the importance of student’s and staff’s mental needs.

English Teacher Mr. Coulter says “Honestly, I think we as a body, students and adults and everybody, I think that we hide our mental health status the way that we would hide it on social media, where you filter things or you kind of only present yourself that you want others to see”. In our school, we have since learned the importance and value of mental health, but only to a certain extent. This Mental Health Day can benefit not only students but faculty and others as well.

Although this day has been postponed, it will be taking the place of Career Day in February, moving Career Day to an after-school opportunity for students who attend. Look out for more updates and news on Mental Health Day to come.