A week of inclusion: HOPE Sunshine Club and Peer Counseling host Start With Hello Week

BY ALYSSA KHAN

With the craze of returning to in-person school, everyone at CCHS seems to want something to look forward to right now. Helping Overcome Problems Efficiently (HOPE) Sunshine Club and Peer Counseling are here to provide that for students and staff with Start With Hello Week from October 5 to October 9. 

Start With Hello Week is about bringing awareness to isolation. It originated from the Sandy Hook Promise, an organization founded following the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident. The mission of the Sandy Hook Promise is to “end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children.”

The goal of Start With Hello Week is to make sure students and peers feel that they aren’t isolated during isolation. With being at home 24/7, students are not getting the same social interaction that they would have before the quarantine. 

Throughout the week, CCHS Peer Counseling and HOPE SunshineClub were posting on their social media accounts and allowing responses from students. The purpose of this was to hear what students are feeling and how they’re handling quarantine. Members of the clubs offered advice on activities to do to feel less alone and how to get through this long time of isolation. 

“What I wanted students to get out of it is that it’s okay to admit that you’re alone and it’s okay to ask for help,” HOPE Sunshine Club president Matthew Milotakis said. “Mental health is important and your own should always come first.”

The week started on Monday with the question, “How can you minimize isolation at school?” HOPE Sunshine Club posted this question on their Instagram story to stimulate thoughts about the topic of isolation and kick off the week. 

Tuesday’s theme was Color of the Day and “Today I feel” Day. This allowed participants to have a conversation and interact with someone in HOPE Sunshine Club to talk about their day. It’s a way to make members and students alike feel good and interact with someone. Even though it’s not the same as conversations in person at school, alternate solutions are provided to take the place of those moments while school is online.

“If we were at school, things would have been a lot more interactive,” Milotakis said. “Last year, we tied ribbons around people’s lanyards. We probably would have done things like that, or [worn] green or yellow one day. We also put out picnics [last year,] which we would have done again, but it’s tough with COVID now sadly.”

“If we were at school, things would have been a lot more interactive.”

HOPE Sunshine Club president Matthew Milotakis

On Wednesday, they gathered pictures of students from CCHS holding up a yellow or green ribbon across their screen. They then made a collage of everyone to show that we, as a school, are connected and care about each other. 

Thursday’s theme was Animal of the Day. This was another way to communicate with members and lead into the final day of the week. The topic for discussion on Friday was about a “Dream or goal that you wish to achieve.” The purpose of this day was for students to see that they’re not alone in their goals. If students had the same or similar dreams, they were able to reach out to each other and possibly make a new friend. 

“I think Start With Hello Week is a really good thing that brings people together and can help prevent isolation,” HOPE Sunshine Club member Melissa Rosi said. “Everything really does start with hello; friendships, relationships, families, jobs and more all start by just saying hello.”

Weeks like this are essential during this time. They serve as a way to bring the students and staff of CCHS together, while providing fun, interactive activities for them to take part in.

Photo courtesy of Aaron School