Purple hearts, chains, and cookies were some of the visual reminders of P.S. I Love You Day on Feb. 13 at Wantagh High School, but it was the conversations that happened among students that made the most impact. Students from Morgan’s Message, a club focused on mental well-being, spent the day in the lobby talking with peers about the national initiative that is dedicated to eradicating the stigma around mental health.
This year’s theme was “Be the Light” and a large poster of a lighthouse hung across the table where Morgan’s Message members handed out cookies to any student or staff member who signed their name to a purple banner.
Morgan’s Message ambassador Addison Gottlieb said a lot of planning went into the day, and it was a team effort. The club wrote kind messages on purple paper hearts that were hung throughout the school. The P.E. Leaders club spearheaded the creation of kindness chains, providing students with strips of paper during their physical education classes to write positive messages. Those paper strips would be turned into the chain links. Students in health education classes penned positive messages on coffee cup sleeves, and the purple cookies were made in the culinary classes.
A new initiative this year was Pin for a Purpose. Each teacher received a clothespin with a kind message that they would clip to a student. That student would then clip it to someone else, with a goal of paying kindness forward throughout the day.
Morgan’s Message adviser Valerie Gompers said about 50 members of the club spent the afternoon decorating the school on Feb. 12, so when students entered the next morning, they would immediately feel the love. Club members were at a table in the lobby before the first bell even rang, greeting students with a smile and sparking conversations about the message of P.S. I Love You Day.
Addison said that all of the efforts were to raise awareness about mental health, remind students that they are never alone and empower them to access available resources if they need help.
Ms. Gompers was supported by fellow culinary arts teachers Marie Gonias and Jenna Messina, P.E. Leaders advisers Marisa Caccese and Deb DiBiase, and Health and Wellness Club adviser Jaclyn Stevens. Planning for the school’s fourth annual P.S. I Love You Day began in November. The Wantagh Middle School chapter of Morgan’s Message also hosted similar activities for grades 6-8.
Photo captions:
1: Wantagh High School’s Morgan’s Message club raised awareness about mental health and spread kindness for P.S. I Love You Day on Feb. 13.
2: Frankie McCartney, left, and Sal Tirro signed the P.S. I Love You Day banner.
Photos courtesy of the Wantagh School District
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