Dear WHS Parents,

Back in the fall semester, PeaceBox: Mindfulness on the Move made its debut on campus after being donated to our campus as a part of the PeaceBox “Summer of Giving” program*. Over 400 students, staff, and community members visited the PeaceBox to learn quick mindfulness tools intended to reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance wellness.

Our students are currently tackling AP and STAAR testing and are gearing up to finish out strong during finals. In order to assist our students with this we have lined up a couple stress-reduction activities for “dead week”. The PeaceBox will be back on campus at the Chap Court on Tuesday, May 21st from 8am to 6pm. Additionally, Teen Teachers are working to bring emotional support dogs to campus next week as well.

WHS students, staff, and parents will have the option to participate in complimentary mindfulness exercises ranging from 5 to 20 minutes in length. Students will have access to the PeaceBox with teacher permission during the school day and their lunch periods. The PeaceBox will also be open to the community from 8am until the school bell rings at 8:50am and again from 4:15pm until 6pm. 

If you do not want your child to visit the PeaceBox please email Student Support Counselor Kristi Waidhofer .

The partnership with PeaceBox began last year when Westlake High School PTO funded a 6-week Mindfulness@Schools training offered by PeaceBox.  Sixteen WHS counselors and teachers participated and received certificates of completion.  Eanes ISD has a district wide initiative to keep focus on our educational objectives of communication (respect, civility, and tolerance), SEL - Social Emotional Learning (respect for all, empathy resilience), and innovation (always striving for best practice).  We believe this evolving partnership with PeaceBox will continue to advance us in each direction. 

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness, Stacy Thrash, owner of PeaceBox, presented at our Speaker Series in the fall and her presentation is here. More information about PeaceBox can be found at https://peacebox.com. 

*PeaceBox Summer of Giving program:
Austin-area Businesses partner with PeaceBox to donate "PEACE DAYS" mindfulness education and practice to eligible schools.  For every 2 days an employer hires PeaceBox to train their employees, one PEACE DAY will be donated to an eligible school.   

Stay Healthy, Chaps! 
​-Kristi Waidhofer

It has been a FABULOUS year of Speaker Series presentations. If you missed one or just want to revisit a presentation, they are all available in the Good Reads section. 

This week I had to dedicate the blog to this Speaker Series presentation because it was just so good! Even if you don't have seniors YET, it's never too early to begin learning to this advice! 

Take a watch and enjoy! 

Stay Healthy, Chaps!
-Kristi Waidhofer​