MSD celebrates Hope Week in three schools

Hope Week is sponsored by the HOPE Squads from Morgan High School, Morgan Middle School and Mountain Green Middle School. During HOPE Week, the squad members focus on building resiliency and spreading awareness of mental health issues while providing fun dress-up days and activities during lunch the week of Feb. 6-10.

MHS kicked off hope at their school Monday with a “Where’s Waldo” style game, where they searched for HOPE Squad members wearing special pins. Tuesday was the ever popular “Anything but a Back Pack Day,” where students could carry their books in any sort of a container other than a backpack, such as a rolling suitcase or a tote. Wednesday, students dressed up like someone who inspired them. Students showed thanks on Thankful Thursday and faced their fears with an assembly. The guest speaker at the assembly was Jeff Gregson, a mental health counselor who taught students how to face fear and anxiety. He brought with him a special guest, Big Mama, a giant python from Scales and Tales, to help demonstrate the idea of facing fears. The week columnated on Friday with all students, faculty and staff being asked to wear yellow, as yellow is the color for HOPE. Wearing yellow represents that they are all in this together, and together they can bring hope to everyone. 

“I loved our Hope Week,” said MHS Counselor and HOPE Squad Advisor KyLee Rock. “I think it went great. Our speaker focused on facing your fears and how to face anxiety, which is something all of our students benefited from.” 

MMS also kicked off Hope Week on Monday with the HOPE Squad greeting students with an “Aloha!” and students dressed in Hawaiian attire. At lunch, they were able to capture their memories in a photo booth. Tuesday, students wore “Hats for Hope.” Wednesday, they “Let Hope Shine” by wearing yellow and having lunchtime activities. Thursday was “Hope Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes,” with students dressing like teachers and teachers dressing like students. MMS also participated in the assembly to help overcome fear and anxiety. Friday was “Dress up for HOPE,” with students wearing their best dress and participating in the Valentine’s dance. Throughout the week, students could find life preservers with messages of hope throughout the school and take them to the office for a treat. 

Kandi Christiansen, MMS counselor and HOPE Squad advisor said MMS Hope week was a chance to focus on how we can bring hope to others in our school by providing fun activities and an assembly that talks about facing our fears and doing hard things and knowing all the support around them to help them through the hard times.

 “I feel our Hope Week was a success. We had a lot of participation from the faculty and students. I think the staff may have had the most fun dressing like a student. The assembly was amazing and really talked about what we needed at this time,” said Christiansen. 

MGMS began their hope week with the HOPE Squad greeting students as they walked in, giving them a treat. “Wearing hats,” students were able to guess how many candies were in a jar at lunch. Tuesday was “wear a team jersey or shirt” to show they are a team player. The toilet paper wrapping game, which is one of the student’s favorite lunchtime activities, was played at lunch. Wednesday, students dressed like Adam Sandler, and at lunch, they had a “Hole in One” contest. Thursday, they blacked out social media by wearing all black and also participating in an assembly. MGMS concluded their Hope week with a dance on Tuesday, Feb. 14, for the seventh and eighth graders, while the fifth and sixth graders held Valentine’s activities.  

Former MHS counselor and HOPE Squad advisor Destiny Field often spoke of the important role the HOPE Squad plays in each of the schools. “HOPE Squad is an organization that trains students to recognize the signs of suicidal thoughts and then help that person get to a trusted adult who can provide further resources for the struggling student, their family and friends. HOPE Squad provides a strengthened safety net for individuals, groups, schools, families and communities. 

“This year, we focused on all the things we could do to bring hope into our lives by focusing on taking control and coming together,” said Rock. “Our daily events were focused on bringing awareness to mental health and the struggles that we can face, but also on how we can look for those things that give us hope.”

Morgan High School started its first HOPE Squad seven years ago, with Morgan Middle and Mountain Green Middle Schools following suit five years ago. “Since then, the number of known suicide attempts at the high school has dropped significantly, and the number of referrals for students to get help has risen significantly,” said Field.

All school counselors in MSD encourage parents and students to download the SafeUT app on their phones. More information about the purpose of this app can be found at safeut.org.