How to Make Mindful Mondays More Effective

At Clarkstown High School North, every student is familiar with the concept of Mindful Mondays. However, during Mindful Monday activities that are meant to assist students, many simply don’t pay attention or participate. Why is it that some students aren’t engaged, despite teachers working hard to provide interesting activities and interactive slideshows? For some students, the goal of helping to reduce students stress is not being accomplished. How can we make Mindful Mondays more effective for everyone? 

What are Mindful Mondays and what purpose do they serve?

Mindful Mondays are short activities for students that are done in the extra seven minutes given during the third period once a week. In recent years, the school has noticed a pattern of social emotional health issues, and Mindful Mondays were created in response to that, as well as state initiatives that asked schools to focus on students’ well-being. Whether the activities are a video or a meditation exercise, they are created by a group of dedicated teachers, administrators and sometimes students to help the social emotional health of students.

How do students feel about Mindful Monday?

Though Mindful Monday is certainly a noble idea that is loved by many, some students don’t pay attention during the sessions.  According to sophomore Chris Caggiano, Mindful Mondays are less than effective. When asked why, he said,  “The activities are just not useful in my opinion.” Another student, sophomore Aidan Heidelberger, said, “I feel like the activities are just not doing what they are supposed to do.” 

But there are some students who feel Mindful Mondays offer a lot. Teachers report that freshmen, in particular, enjoy the interactive slide shows and look forward to seeing what the weekly mood meters will reference (in the past, they have even been holiday themed). Freshman Chloe Czajkowski says “Mindful Monday is an opportunity to remind yourself of the upcoming week ahead of you. For me, Mindful Monday is a day to remember how great my weekend was and get excited for the rest of the week ahead.” 

Whether Mindful Monday is something you love or could do without, students have ideas to make it more successful for everyone.

How can we make Mindful Mondays reach more kids?

Though many students criticize Mindful Monday activities, they also provide suggestions on ways to improve them so that all students benefit. When asked about how to improve the effectiveness of Mindful Monday, Aidan Heidelberger states, “I think we should do something similar to World of Difference, and make it a more in-person experience.” Chris Caggiano states, “It would be more effective if the activities were more interactive.” Generally, the consensus seems to be that students would really appreciate it if Mindful Mondays didn’t always rely on screens. For example, students could go for walks outside, or sessions could be taught by a special group of student visitors who came into classrooms.

At Clarkstown North, everybody is familiar with Mindful Mondays, and for some students, they are a way to regroup and recharge for the week ahead. However, for others, they haven’t been as effective. To make Mindful Monday reach more students, some students believe creating live lessons will help fix these issues. Mindful Monday will then be a fun activity that students will feel more happy to participate in, ultimately helping social emotional health.