This year the PTSA’s Stressbusters will celebrate its 12-year anniversary. The committee continues to organize frequent community events, including dog visits during lunch, hot cocoa in the morning and monthly guest speakers. 

Stressbusters is a PTSA committee comprised of parents and teachers who work alongside the counseling department and administration to support student wellness. The committee organizes various monthly events to help students relax and combat their stress.

PTSA president Katie Blot believes that the Stressbusters programs give students time to pause during busy times.

“We hear from students, as well as families, that ‘achievement culture’ is tough sometimes,” Blot said. “That’s why Stressbusters is really focused on how to break through that and how to give cognitive and physical breaks to students.”

Stressbusters sponsors two types of events: monthly evening events and monthly lunch events. The monthly evening events educate community members on mental health topics. In October, the committee hosted Metropolitan counseling associate Kimberly Levin to talk about executive functioning skills and how to use cognitive flexibility to face obstacles. In November, they hosted a screening of the documentary “Race to Be Human” to engage community members in a meaningful conversation surrounding racial discrimination. 

Stressbusters also hosts monthly events during lunch for students and staff. In November, they held a “Brown Bag Lunch” with student club leaders to discuss the impact of stress and what Whitman students can do to reduce it.

Junior Sasha Liderman attended the Brown Bag Lunch and believes that Whitman needs to take more steps to reduce stress levels in the school.

“I got to bring forth the many concerns I have with mental health in our school, and the factors I think make it worse,” Liderman said. “I shared that if students are able to have more flexibility with their schedules and workload it can help alleviate stress.”

Many other students voiced their concerns about stress including the difficulty of switching teachers, finding room for required credit classes and tests falling on the same day. With Stressbusters working alongside administrators and counseling, they are determined to bring change for students. Stressbusters Chair Brenda Bachman hopes that these events can foster an enjoyable environment for students, she said. 

“Our goal with these is fun,” Bachman said. ”We know students already have so much to do, we just want to be able to give students a chance to reduce stress and have fun.”