The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

The School Newspaper of Winston Churchill High School.

The Observer

Paws for Thoughts: Mental Health

Paws for Thoughts: Mental Health

By Jeremy Chung, Editor-in-Chief February 5, 2024

My article is late…again. Sorry Ha-Yeon. I hoped to end the year strong, but I guess that’s a long shot now. To all the Observer staff members reading this, I understand how you feel now. Amidst...

WCHS senior Jack Gans takes a nap in his sixth period class because he did not take a Mental Health Day.

“Mental health day” trend benefits student performance

By Vaughn Malamut, Best World Cup Defenseman May 15, 2023

Seven grueling hours, five days a week, for 182 days. School can easily become something that is dreadful for many students. The tiresome and exhausting long days can cause students to slip into a negative...

The three members of the Bridge to Wellness team, Maria Bruno, Alex Metral, and Dominic Elliot, stand in front of their Bridge to Wellness room poster.

Bridge to Wellness connects students to positive mental health

By Ha-Yeon Jeon, Features Editor March 21, 2023

$8,000,000: the Montgomery County Council’s special appropriations for expanding High School Wellness Centers (HSWCs) into every MCPS high school. Although Montgomery County has attempted a wide variety...

This past February, the Educational Policy Department of the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR-SGA) held a community forum to discuss mental health resources in MCPS. Many students brought up the gaps that they saw and why they thought improvements were necessary.

MCPS’ wellness resources: a good effort but ineffective

By Ha-Yeon Jeon, Features Editor March 2, 2023

A, B, C: Advisory classes, Be Well 365 and counselor lessons on restorative justice, mindfulness and more. MCPS boasts a plethora of programs for its K-12 students that aim to address the gaps in social...

To de-stress and collect her thoughts WCHS senior Sophia Danpino writes in her journal. Journaling as a coping mechanism is a positive outlet for her feelings.

Students combat the stigma against mental health

By Ananya Pandit, Assistant Features Editor December 2, 2022

Cloudy afternoons, heavy backpacks and late nights chipping farther and farther into sleep. With the knee-deep stresses of the end of the first quarter, these patterns begin to set in. For some, the routine...

As a part of Mental Health Awareness Week, students drew positie messages in the bus loop on Oct. 11 during lunch. These activities are another one of WCHSs efforts to push for better student wellness.

MCPS strives to bridge mental health resources with students

By Caroline Harless, Observations Editor October 20, 2022

For most students, high school leads to a lot of stress. Between class assignments, homework, extracurricular activities and more, it can be difficult for students to stay afloat. This added stress worsens...

WCHS junior Emma Datch takes advantage of class time and catching up on assignments that she is behind on.

WCHS implements catch up days to support students

By Sneha David, Assistant Online Editor October 11, 2022

Many students can find themselves overwhelmed and stressed when they fall behind on work. Making an effort to eliminate this stress, WCHS has now implemented “catch-up days”, a day each month where...

On the second day of mental health awareness week, the Thrive Club encouraged WCHS students to leave positive chalk messages on the sidewalk.

Mental health tips for students to deal with stress

By Jordan Pashkoff, Arts Editor December 8, 2021

As students are well into the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year, it is important for students to check in on themselves. In-person learning is back in swing and the pressures that might have...

Lily Braun, the WCHS School Psychologist, is located in Room 115A. Working together with the Special Education and Counseling departments, she plays a crucial role in students wellbeings.

School psychologist opens door for mental health

By Ha-Yeon Jeon, Opinions Editor November 25, 2021

Walk down the main office hallway, pass the Health room, Mailroom and the College & Career Center. Keep walking down the counseling hallway and take a left into room 155A, right into an office unnoticed...

While depression and anxiety are often the most common and talked about teen mental illnesses, many teenagers struggle with a multitude of other illnesses. It is important for parents, teachers, and teens themselves to not overlook mental health, and to take the necessary steps to prevent and combat mental illnesses, such as limiting social media.

Social media damages teens’ mental health

By Caitlin Murphy, Staff Writer March 3, 2021

TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat all have one thing in common: they are forms of social media. Social media has many benefits for teens, such as keeping them in touch with friends, building communication...

The counseling department made this one pager to easily show resources to use if you or someone you know is going through mental health issues.

SOS lessons on depression are out of touch

By Allison Jacobs, Editor in Chief March 1, 2021

At the end of the first semester, juniors and seniors had SOS lessons focused on depression in their English classes. The lessons included a video, as well as a presentation and a discussion from the counselor...

Being pent up at home, socially isolated from others, can lead to detrimental consequences to ones mental health. Taking the time for self care is important during these hard times.

Self care in the time of COVID-19: how to combat pandemic fatigue

By Emily Zhang, Features Editor December 10, 2020

As cases continue to surge across the U.S., citizens are tired of the bottled up feelings of social isolation. While it is important to follow new, stricter public health guidelines to limit the spread,...

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