Fostering Mindfulness Across All Divisions

In an exciting collaboration among teachers and Health and Wellness Counselors in all divisions and a tech-savvy alum, Grant Goldman ’20, FWCD is rolling out a new mindfulness initiative. The project, spearheaded by Katy Thompson Hobbs ’97 and a Professional Learning Community team, aims to incorporate regular mindfulness practices into the daily routines of students and teachers.

According to Hobbs, the idea began several years ago when then Head of Lower School Shari Lincoln asked her to develop a mindfulness program specifically for Lower School students. “We put together 13 tools for our teachers, complete with YouTube videos and an anchor chart, which is a visual reminder that can be used in classrooms to reinforce mindfulness practices if a teacher doesn’t want to access a video,” Hobbs said. An example of one of the tools is Take 5.

The team was inspired by a simple Chrome extension called Move It, which would prompt a movement break for students once every period. Hobbs saw this as a great idea and thought about how they could tailor something similar to FWCD’s needs. “I went to Eric Lombardi and Amy Witten to see if we could explore creating our own custom Chrome extension using Grant Goldman, one of our alumni who was a computer science major in college,” Hobbs explained.

This led to the creation of PLC, led by Hobbs, that included (Lower School) Theresa Fuss, Sarah Aktar Smith ’91, Callie Spradley, Julie Dean, (Middle School) Kathryn Sohne, Jamie Ringgenberg, Aaron Hoover, (Upper School) Katie Walker, and Christy Alvear. Together, they developed a mindfulness survey for the entire school, seeking feedback on what tools would be most beneficial for students of all ages.

Through their survey, they identified 32 tools that were turned into easy-to-use Google slides. The Chrome extension allows teachers to integrate these slides into their daily presentations, ensuring that mindfulness moments “pop up” throughout the day if they’d like. “The tools are short, non-invasive, and really easy to implement.” The team is working to put together videos to accompany 32 tools over time. 

Though the extension is initially aimed at Lower School students, the team has plans for expansion. “Our goal is to use this in Middle School and Upper School as well," Hobbs noted. “We’re also hoping that older Falcons will help film some of the videos. I think our younger students will love knowing that mindfulness is important to everyone at FWCD, even the older students.”

The PLC mindfulness team will continue to share updates and tools in the FWCD Update, and Hobbs encourages everyone to participate. “Please practice these mindfulness moments yourselves and with your Falcons,” she said. “Mindfulness matters, and it’s a habit we want to foster in our whole community.” 

With this innovative extension, FWCD is taking a major step toward integrating mindfulness into the daily life of students and teachers alike, creating a stronger foundation for focus, self-awareness and well-being.