A Healthy Start to the Day

Lower School students begin their days with Wellness Block. Each day, there is a focus on one particular area of wellness, including academic, physical, financial, social emotional and spiritual wellness. The lessons for each day are created by a team of teachers utilizing professional resources to provide grade-level appropriate lessons. Each week ends with Community Block, which provides students with additional opportunities for physical, social emotional, and spiritual learning or student spotlights and special programming.

Examples of Wellness Block activities include walking the outdoor loop around the Lower School; learning about setting, adjusting and achieving goals; enjoying guided mindfulness and meditation activities; and learning about recognizing social cues.

A highlight of Wellness Block has been the introduction of the campus store, designed to teach important financial wellness lessons about earning, saving and spending money. Students earn “Lancer Bucks” throughout the week as they complete classroom jobs. They have four opportunities throughout the semester to visit the campus store at the Lower School, which is stocked with donated Gilmour gear that the students can “purchase” with the Lancer Bucks they have earned. Students have to weigh the decision of whether to spend all their Lancer Bucks at once or continue to save throughout the semester to perhaps “purchase” a larger item later.  

The Wellness Block at the Lower School is part of the school’s overarching Wellness Initiative, which includes a variety of opportunities for students and faculty to participate in wellness activities during Community Block to enhance their overall well-being. Students can get extra academic support, engage in physical activity such as yoga or barre classes, work on homework, or participate in spiritual activities through the campus ministry department. These opportunities during Community Block have improved the well-being of students by decreasing stress and improving sleep at home. 

Advisory is another time provided for students to a take a deeper dive into specific topics to enhance the wellness of each student. Examples of special programming for students involve healthy relationships, prevention education and nutrition education. Olweus Bullying Prevention workshops, social emotional learning and LifeAct (mental health) are implemented throughout the school year to promote healthy behaviors and academic achievement. The wellness team works together to offer students a variety of programming to enhance their overall well-being. 
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Mailing Address

34001 Cedar Road, Gates Mills, Ohio 44040
phone: (440) 473-8000

Campus Addresses
An independent, Catholic, coed, day and boarding school in the Holy Cross tradition. Toddler-Grade 12.