District focuses on mental health with festival
Photo submitted by Alyson Sears Cutline: Stacy Susor and Trisha Kilsdonk of Shear America Salon generously donate their time and talents to style students’ hair during the Mental Health Wellness Festival. Jamie Thompson Salm of Daniel’s Barbershop by Jamie also helped with the ‘mohawk party,’ which aimed to draw attention to the participants’ hair to begin a conversation about the mind beneath it and mental health.
November 10, 2022
Suicide Prevention Committee, a CHS student organization, held a Mental Health Wellness Festival the afternoon of October 21. It was the second-ever mental health fair Chilton has held and the first one since COVID-19.
The seventh-graders and eighth-graders from Chilton Middle School as well as middle schoolers from Chilton Area Catholic School and Trinity Lutheran-Rantoul came over to CHS to visit some of the booths that had been set up.
There were more than 20 booths in the festival, which was held in the CHS gyms, athletic lobby and just outside of the main entrance.
Most of the booths were to help spread mental health awareness, such as those organized by Calumet County Public Health Department, Harbor House, National Alliance on Mental Illness Fox Valley and Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley.
But some of the booths were just for fun, including one with cookies and hot chocolate, a martial arts stand, an inflatable obstacle course and even a stand with five different types of snakes.
Several CHS student organizations were also represented, including Engler Center for the Performing Arts Student Leadership, FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, Gay-Straight Alliance, The Prowler Club, Sources of Strength, Suicide Prevention Committee and Yearbook.
The mohawk party was a favorite booth. The color for mental health wellness is green. At this booth, there were stylists from Daniel’s Barbershop by Jamie and Shear America who came in and braided and used washable colored hairspray to color students’ hair green. Overall, the stand was used to help people know that they are not alone and spread even more awareness for mental health.
Freshman Adeline Kuehn said, “The overall event was fun because of the activities we got to do.”
While the middle schoolers attended the festival, a speaker talked to the high schoolers in the Engler Center for the Performing Arts.
Prevent Suicide Fox Cities Board Chair Mrs. Cindy Reffke shared the story of her mental health journey and also the loss of her brother-in-law to suicide. She also talked about how people can take care of their mental health.
Junior Maddie Sears said, “I liked how many facts they had and how outgoing she was to speak about all of the stuff that went on in her life.”
After the middle schoolers left, the high schoolers got to go around to the booths.
Cutline: Stacy Susor and Trisha Kilsdonk of Shear America Salon generously donate their time and talents to style students’ hair during the Mental Health Wellness Festival. Jamie Thompson Salm of Daniel’s Barbershop by Jamie also helped with the ‘mohawk party,’ which aimed to draw attention to the participants’ hair to begin a conversation about the mind beneath it and mental health.
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