Principal Tom Harmas discusses Culture of Care week activities with Speak of the house Deion Ziwawo. Culture of Care week with take place during next week.

According to Principal Tom Harmas, Culture of Care week will take place next week. This is the school’s third year of Culture of Care.

“Our intention is that it brings the social, emotional learning component of school to the forefront and that that never leaves what we’re doing. It’s the idea of being kind to your classmates, and that sounds silly, but that’s what it’s all about—caring about other people, and really listening and being a part of that,” Harmas said. “In my mind, it’s changing the culture from ‘academics, academics, pressure, pressure, pressure’ to ‘we’re still going to be great academically, but we’re also going to take care of people as we’re going through that.”

Along with the biennial Question-Persuade-Respond (QPR) suicide prevention training for teachers, 75 staff members piloting mindful minutes and therapy dogs, student body president Maddie Heath said there are many more activities students can participate in this year.

“I am really just excited to see how the student body takes the week and runs with it,” she said “With something like this, people tend to really want to spread the positive messages themselves, and I’m excited to see how they take what senate is doing and expand upon it.”