How Mason Hope Squad Spends Their Day

Mason Hope Squad is fortunate to have a bell dedicated to its mission — many other schools have to meet after school, but like other classes at Mason High School, members attend Hope Squad four times a week on a rotating block schedule. Depending on the day, Mason Hope Squad members partake in different activities, though a similar schedule is typically followed each week:

Monday Schedule:

Usually, Monday class periods serve as our "Committee Day," meaning that each of our 14 committees meet to catch up on work and complete projects. Members bid on their desired committee at the beginning of the school year and each committee can be found at the bottom of this page. Committees are small groups, consisting of anywhere from 3-9 members each.

Wednesday Schedule:

The middle of the week and first block day for 6th bell, Wednesdays are for curriculum learning/Senior Capstone work time. On these mornings, each member is in their cohort — separated by years of experience in Hope Squad or grade level, depending on the type of day — and Hope Squad curriculum is founded on SEL (social-emotional learning). These lessons include various topics, such as communication skills, risk factors, self-care, leadership, acting on social media, and much more.

Thursday Schedule:

Thursdays are when the entire squad meets in the Harvard Room. Having everyone together in one place enables the advisors and sometimes, committees or select members, to make announcements for the squad. Additionally, every few weeks, members engage in a QPR (question, persuade, refer) roleplay with other members to refine suicide-prevention skills, allowing members to have the practice before going into situations where a peer may be in crisis. Occasionally, Mason Hope Squad will host guest speakers to view a presentation and ask questions to further our knowledge about mental health/school resources.

Friday Schedule:

To conclude the week, typically, Fridays will be all about self-care. The role of a Hope Squad Member can be overwhelming at times, and we like to connect this position to an analogy about an oxygen mask on an airplane: one must put on their own mask before helping their peers next to them. In doing so, members are able to act swiftly and effectively when helping a peer. Some of the squad's favorite self-care activities are watching movies, playing trivia, karaoke, study hall, taking a walk outside, and so much more — all activities are organized by the Self-Care Committee each week.

Committees

Building Based Outreach

Building Based Outreach is a committee that works to spread Hope Squad’s message throughout the building/district to the student body, alumni, staff, and parents.

Community Events

Community Events plans and organizes all the events that go on in the Mason area. This is to help build hope and connection between the squad and the community.

Displays

Displays is the graphics-focused committee. We strive to spread awareness by making flyers, banners, and bulletin boards for the Mason High School Hope Squad.

Education

The Education Committee is dedicated to crafting informative presentations for our school and community members. We ensure students, staff, and Mason residents know about suicide prevention, mental wellness, self care practices, and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

Events

The Events Committee focuses on brainstorming, planning, and executing events within the school to promote the Hope Squad message. Throughout the school year, our major projects are the Winter and Spring Hope Weeks and Suicide Prevention Week.

Finance

The Finance Committee is responsible for tracking the squad's budget and allocating funds from committee to committee upon request. Finance also organizes the donation drive and crafts financial reports for the squad on a quarterly and semesterly basis.

Partnerships

Partnerships works with organizations in and out of school to spread awareness of Hope Squad. Some examples of what we’ve done are the partnership with the Cosmic Café, and each year we partner with the middle school Hope Squad to help build connections and nurture our message.

QPR

QPR is the committee that creates engaging practices for the Squad to improve the skills of each member. The goal of this committee is to teach the Squad how to spot signs of suicide, start conversations, and become more empathetic through practicing different scenarios.

Self Care

Self Care is a committee that organizes our Squad schedule for Friday's classes. We research self-care techniques, create and run different rooms for self-care Fridays, and sort people into assigned places.

Social Media

Social Media is a committee that spreads the message of Hope Squad through digital media. We love creating engaging social media on multiple platforms to reach out to our peers and our community.

Special Projects

Special Projects is a committee focused on coming up with and completing creative, interesting projects that relate to Hope Squad and mental health.

Squad Bonding

Squad Bonding plans games, activities, and events that allow Hope Squad to build meaningful relationships with other members. Our goal is to foster trust and encourage collaboration throughout the Squad with activities such as Friendsgiving and bonding games

SBN

Squad Bonding News is a committee that informs the Squad what is going on within our group. Upcoming events, birthdays, and Hope Week are just some examples about which we inform our Squad. We also play interactive games to get to know each other better.

Worker Bees

The Worker Bees is a committee that helps the squad and advisors with any tasks asked. They organize complete side-projects and help manage Hope Squad as a whole.

Cohorts

Year 1 Members

Year 2 Members

Year 3 Members

Year 4 Members

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