At the beginning of the school year, JFK’s administration started our school’s weekly Feel Good Friday program. The Feel Good Friday lessons include topics such as anti-bullying and healthy coping mechanisms to help students deal with emotions.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs started as a way to assist students through mental health struggles resulting from nearly two years of quarantine. The Feel Good Friday exercises have students get together and communicate to practice team-building skills and self confidence.

The school’s SAC Counselor, Ms. Paloti stated that the district and the state requires all schools to provide weekly SEL and HIB (Harassment Intimidation & Bullying) lessons. Even though Feel Good Fridays are specific to JFK, all schools in the district are practicing similar instruction.

With the help of Dr. Parry and  Ms. Blauvelt, Ms. Paloti developed the program, explaining that she wanted it to be “more fun and consistent.” This is a change from last year’s SEL lessons, which, according to Ms. Paloti, were seemingly “inconsistent and confusing for teachers,” as they would interfere with their schedules.

The administration hopes to attain better results from the new Feel Good Fridays program; a renewed approach to traditional SEL lessons. Overall, the intention of the program is to provide students with tools to cope with difficult situations and be more comfortable with themselves and each other.