CYPRESS — In continuing to build relationships between Campbell Middle School and its surrounding community, the campus counselors successfully concluded its latest event with families attending “Yoga with the Counselors” on Oct. 7.
The virtual yoga session is a continuation of a series that started with “Painting with the Counselors,” which Campbell hosted last year. Counselors challenged themselves to bring more positivity to the campus and find ways to better connect with students, parents and other Campbell community members.
The idea itself sprouted from families dealing with COVID-19, Campbell seventh grade counselor Sabrina Barnett said, which has included struggles with work, school and other everyday responsibilities. Campbell’s counseling team decided yoga and meditation could be a beneficial activity in promoting mental healthcare.
“With everybody at home and worried about their health and the mental health issues we’ve seen, we wanted to do something for our community members to help them relax and take a deep breath because of everything that is going on,” Barnett said.
Barnett was joined by fellow Campbell counselors Dayna Francois and Sherri Jacob inside Campbell’s cafeteria, where the trio set up in front of laptops and a Promethean ActivPanel. They joined approximately 15 community members and fellow Campbell staff who joined virtually from their homes.
Local yoga fitness center owner and instructor Deborah Bracken led the group through various poses and offered encouragement. Campbell teacher and coach Amber Austin conducted a 15-minute meditation session.
In addition, Campbell eighth grade counselor Krystal Williams discussed four-year plans, academic endorsements and other academic issues with participants.
The counselors host brown bag information sessions as a way to get information to parents, but they wanted to find other ways to increase participation on campus while also getting valuable information to families. A spring event is in the planning stages.
“Everybody that was on enjoyed it, they were so thankful and said they want us to do it again,” Barnett said. “Going back to our Painting with the Counselors, we had a good number of people who came out and have since encouraged others to participate in future events.”