Emotional Health Week, 2024

Emotional Health Week, 2024

The Emotional Health Week is the national event that highlights the importance of socio-emotional health in schools, emphasizing its crucial role and impact on the overall development of students. Organized by the InIm Institute, in partnership with School of HealthPuratos Romania, and Bakery School Romania the event initiates a collective effort to raise awareness of the importance of the need for belonging and well-being in schools. Over the first three editions, it has engaged more than 5,000 teachers, impacting over 125,000 students. The fourth edition of the Emotional Health Week, scheduled for May 27-31, 2024, carries the slogan “Never Alone at School“.

Context

In our ongoing effort to raise awareness among teachers, students, and parents, we continue to address loneliness and foster a culture of belonging in the school environment in 2024. When students learn in a safe, physically, and emotionally supportive environment, they develop a sense of belonging that provides the framework for emotional resilience and academic achievement.

Loneliness is currently one of the most widespread issues affecting mental health on a large scale. Feeling isolated or misunderstood, young people can become more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, conduct problems, substance use, and, in some cases, suicide. Loneliness can impact students’ academic performance and interpersonal relationships in the educational context, leading to a less inclusive and effective learning environment.

By addressing loneliness during Emotional Health Week, we aim to raise awareness and understanding of this issue and provide strategies and resources to counteract its negative effects in the school environment. We also aim to promote a culture of belonging in schools where every student feels integrated and supported by peers and the school community as a whole.

Through planned activities, alongside the School of Health and Puratos, we will encourage positive interpersonal relationships, collaboration, and mutual support among students, teachers, and parents, thus promoting a healthier and more inclusive school environment for all involved, especially students.

Format

Similar to previous years, Emotional Health Week comes with a daily thematic calendar. From Monday to Friday, activities on different themes are organized, and this year, we encourage participants to engage in activities to combat loneliness and foster a culture of belonging in schools.

Through these daily activities and events, our goal is not only to raise awareness of the issue of loneliness in schools but also to create an environment conducive to the implementation of practical solutions, with the aim of building a more empathetic and sustainable educational environment. The Emotional Health Week becomes a space for exploration and transformation, where the mental health and well-being of students are prioritized and actively promoted.

This year’s program is as follows:

  • Monday – Belonging Day: Creating a corner where students express their thoughts on the feeling of belonging.
  • Tuesday – Judgment-Free Day: Creating a vocabulary of beautiful words to be introduced into the daily discourse of students and teachers.
  • Wednesday – Care and Kindness Day: Each student spends the day with another student, showing them what care and kindness mean.
  • Thursday – Socialization Day: Students socialize and practice mindful eating with healthy snacks.
  • Friday – Gratitude Day: Students create objects with messages of gratitude to give to classmates, teachers, or administrative staff.

The activities carried out by participants are posted in the Emotional Health Week Facebook group, facilitating an exchange of experiences among teachers nationwide.

Contest

Just like in previous editions, in the fourth edition of Emotional Health Week, we are launching a contest themed around fostering a culture of belonging. Thanks to our sponsor, Puratos Romania, we offer 3 cash prizes to classes that meet the requirements below, with the aim of supporting socio-emotional health in schools.

The contest involves creating a Belonging Board that captures key elements of this concept (drawings, photos, texts, messages, etc.). Three winning classes will be selected, and the cash prizes provided will enable teachers and students to create a space dedicated to mental health in the classroom or within the school.

Prizes:

  • 1st Prize: 2,500 lei
  • 2nd Prize: 1,500 lei
  • 3rd Prize: 1,000 lei

Rules for participation:

  • The teacher will complete the registration form by May 26th. Link: https://shorturl.at/npzB6
  • The teacher, together with their students, will create the Belonging Board between May 27th and May 31st.
  • The teacher will write a proposal (Word, PDF) explaining what they intend to purchase/create with the prize money if they win the contest.
  • The teacher will send photos, videos of the Belonging Board, as well as the proposal document (from point 3) to the email address office@iniminstitute.com by May 31st, when the contest ends.
  • The teacher will complete the final form, available from May 31st, providing feedback for the Emotional Health Week program by June 9th. Link: https://shorturl.at/biMO0

All teachers wishing to participate must complete both the initial (registration) and final (feedback) forms.

The winners will be announced on June 10th.

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