Lawrentians Dedicate a Day to Learning Self-Care and Wellness

Valentine’s Day offered an opportunity for Lawrentians to practice some self-care and dive into the themes comprising the School’s Wellness Wheel, unveiled recently as part of Lawrenceville’s new strategic plan.

Employees and students were invited to propose workshops for the day, named Well@the’Ville, aligning with the seven dimensions of the Wellness Wheel: Environmental, Intellectual, Professional, Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Social. Various campus locations were designated according to each dimension, and students were encouraged to explore two areas of the wheel that they felt could be enhanced as part of their overall wellness.

According to Dean of Campus Wellbeing Rae Chresfield, the Wellness Wheel provides an opportunity for community members to reflect on the seven dimensions of wellness and consider the areas in their lives that are going well. It can also help identify and support areas that need attention. The wheel also helps the community adopt a common vernacular around wellness and how to be attuned to our diverse needs and experiences.

Chresfield encourages users to look at the wheel and think about areas in their lives where things are going well, and consider areas that need improvement.

“How do I build up the other pieces?” she asks community members to consider. “It’s an opportunity to look at where we have moments of balance. Balance isn’t perpetual. How do we create circumstances to create a good day for ourselves?”

The concept for Lawrenceville’s wellness wheel is rooted in history, Chresfield noted.

“We are all interrelated and interconnected,” Chresfield said. “The pieces of the wheel are dependent on each other.”

The Wellness Wheel is one of several tools outlined in Lawrenceville’s strategic plan, House, Harkness, Heart: A New Era for Community Wellbeing, to help community members better understand wellbeing and how it aligns with day-to-day life.

Well@the’Ville, Lawrenceville’s Wellness Day, included two sessions for Underform students to choose from. Activities ranged from baking to bird watching, calligraphy to cooking, and drumming to dancing. Fifth Form students spent time as a class and reviewed the steps for upcoming end of year events with Level Director Etienne Bilodeau.

A community lunch in Tsai Commons completed the morning events, with door prizes and raffles available for attendees. Students could also continue wellness activities in the afternoon, at the Bunn Library’s Wellness Wednesdays events, making Valentine’s Day treats, or in the Hutchins Galleries where tea, games, and music were provided for students interested in taking in the final days of the student art show.

Sathvik Samant ‘26 directed a workshop designed to bridge the gap between AI and wellness. Here, he taught students how to produce images using generative AI image technologies.

“I learned that people are really excited to display their creativity through AI,” he said. “Some people might not be the best artists or painters, but AI provides them with a creative outlet to make cool images that make them feel relaxed.”

In Tsai Field House, students turned their hands (and feet) to a variety of physical activities, ranging from boxing to yoga. Roscoe Heuer ‘24 and Teddy Plimpton ‘25 tutored students in the art of putting.

“As two varsity golfers, it’s an honor to share our craft,” said Heuer. “It’s really important to get outside, get some fresh air, be with your friends, and build new relationships - and that’s all part of the game of golf.”

Cowboy boots were thumping at the line dancing lesson led by Beth Foulk (associate director of college counseling), Rebekah Crane (science teaching fellow), and Kennedy Dirkes (math teaching fellow). Foulk, who has been line dancing for more than a decade, felt the activity was perfect for the day. “Obviously, it gets you moving, but it also brings you joy to be out on the dance floor,” she said. “What I love about it is that you cannot make mistakes - you just do what you want with the people around you, so there’s a freeness that’s enjoyable.”

Charise Kelly ‘27 said, “I signed up because I thought it would be fun - and it was really, really fun!”

Leaders of the Latinos Unidos club also used dance, along with refreshments. “I hope that the people who joined us today learned a little more about LatinX culture, because dance and food are two really big parts of our culture,” said Ally Calderon ‘24, who led the session.

Student Council Wellness Representative Cassie Dillard ‘25 thought that the day was “really nice” because “students were able to choose what wellness means to them.” With fellow Fifth Former Cate Gogolak, Dillard led a session that allowed Lawrentians to return to their earlier childhoods by playing board games. “Lawrenceville gets really busy and there’s not a lot of time to just sit on the floor for an hour and play games,” she stated. “Today, I saw people having a lot of fun, playing “Battleship” and card games, and it was just really nice. Everyone seems really happy and the day was just lovely.”

More photos are available on Lawrenceville’s Flickr page.

For additional information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.