What is the Wellness Center?

Located in P-231, the Wellness Center allows students to seek professional mental health services, destress with friends, engage in activities designed for relaxation and have a quick snack. 

Around 300 students visit the center each day for therapy appointments, quick breaks, eating lunch and relaxing, according Wellness Coordinator Michelle Ramos. Students can drop in at any time between 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including class time. The center is also open to those enrolled in summer school. When the Wellness Center is closed, students are directed to Allcove in Palo Alto, which is a separate wellness center. 

If a student needs to connect with a therapist, they can either have a drop-in session or refer themselves to their counselor or Ramos for ongoing therapy sessions. 

For drop-in sessions, students are prompted to fill out a short form on an iPad by the entrance so that the wellness team is aware of their needs. They are connected to a therapist right away if  one is available. 

Students have up to three drop-in sessions without officially notifying anyone. Counselors may be notified in case of academic concerns or stressors, and parents may also be notified unless they are a barrier to mental health. However, according to Ramos, about 97% of students who believe that their parents are against therapy find their parents to be supportive. All content during therapy sessions always remains confidential with a few exceptions. 

The Wellness Center’s staff is comprised of Ramos, Wellness Outreach Specialist Rosie Castillo who focuses on promoting the center and mental health, Mental Health and Wellness Associate Dani Warren, Mental Health and Wellness Therapist Paul Hickey and PAUSD Mental Health and Wellness Therapist Brittney Tabel who provide counseling services to Gunn students.

Over the past school year, the Wellness Center has organized various activities, ranging from decorating sugar cookies and painting to bringing animals on campus. These events not only help students hang out and unwind, but also destigmatize mental health struggles.

“People tend to internalize (their emotions) because they believe that no one else understands what it is like or no one else is feeling that way,” Castillo said. 

According to Castillo, destigmatizing mental health issues will make students more willing to reach out for help. 

“We wouldn’t shame anyone for going to the doctor for getting an annual breast exam for breast cancer,” she said. “Why would we want people to feel ashamed that they have to seek support for therapy?” 

Student response to the Wellness Center

Results from the Panorama Survey from fall of 2023 show that 56% of respondents have often felt sad and 31% respondents often felt worried, increasing from fall of 2022 by 12% and 6% respectively . 

 For junior Mia Saad, who visits the center once a week, the Wellness Center is a safe space.

“I go whenever there are drop-ins to take a break or for food,” she said. “Talking to people is nice, especially therapists, and it is also just a quiet place to relax. They (therapists) help you clear your mind and help you look at other thought processes. If you have issues, then you can think and scroll down on your own thoughts, but they can help you think from a different perspective.”

However, some students believed that the Wellness Center lacked visibility, making students feel unsure of utilizing the center for their mental health needs. One such student is sophomore Milcah Morrison, who upon coming to Gunn, recalled the Wellness Center being only briefly mentioned during the freshmen orientation.

“It wasn’t enough information for me to be like, ‘Oh, I can go there. That’s a safe place,’” she said. “If we invest more into wellness and mental health, I think that people will definitely start to consider going there in general.”

Although the center originally had a 15-minute time limit placed as an agreement by stakeholders when the center was first established, the mandate was lifted after a student’s death. It is planned to  remain lifted for the rest of the school year and transition back in the fall of the 2024-25 school year. 

“We knew that some students were in grief or just upset, and we wanted to make sure that they didn’t feel rushed to go back to class,” Ramos said. 

With varying usage of the center, Freshman Tim Landt prefers to use the center for a quiet study space and finds these rules beneficial for self-control. 

“The no-electronics rule helps me stay on task without being distracted on my phone,” he said. 

According to freshman Isabella Cruz, many teachers have been supportive toward students visiting the Wellness Center during class to take a break. Students can ask their teachers to write them a pass during class or ask a wellness staff member to notify their teacher through email.  

“(Teachers) are always saying, ‘Feel free to go to the Wellness Center whenever you need to,’” she said.

Growth and future development of the Wellness Center

Moving forward, the Wellness team wishes to continue to promote student mental health and well-being, with an emphasis on normalizing mental illnesses and reducing stigma around the discussion of mental health. 

“As students go through their high school career, maybe the juniors and seniors are finally opening up to us since we are familiar with them,” Ramos said. “But then, (the issue is), as the next group comes in, we have to kind of start all over.”

The wellness team has also been working closely with the Parent Teacher Student Association to set goals for the upcoming years and plan mental health education workshops. 

“We also want to have parents share their concerns with us, since not all students come to us,” Ramos said. “But if we can impart some guidance and tools to parents, maybe they can take it home for their students.” 

Since the death of a student, the wellness team has made efforts to become more visible and promote their resources. Recently, the team has made an Instagram account, @gunnwellnesscenter, with information on how to sign in for a drop-in session and how to make the most out of the Wellness Center space. The team has also set up tables in the senior quad during lunch with activities promoting mental health and designed a logo for the wellness team. 

“We want shirts with our logo sign so that everybody knows, ‘Oh, this is the wellness team and these are the people that we are going to talk to when we are in distress or upset,’” Ramos said.

The team also wants to work more closely with other departments, including the admin and the counseling team, to communicate about students’ concerns and ways to implement more help. 

The wellness team has seen growth in the number of students in the center, with over 1500 visits in the past two months. Castillo shares that she has come across more people addressing mental health issues and helping their peers. 

“We have more occurrences of people coming up to the Wellness Center and being like, ‘Hey, I don’t know this person but they posted this on social media and I’m concerned about them. It seems kind of serious,’ or even (helping) their friends (by saying), ‘Hey, my friend sent this text message yesterday and I’m worried about them. Could you please check in on them?’” she said. “I feel like this represents how you guys are just so insightful, aware and have really good instincts when to seek out support for your friends. As a student population, you guys are so resilient, and I think it speaks out about what you guys are involved in and push through.” 

To reach out to the wellness team, email gunnwellnessteam@pausd.org or fill out .

While he was initially inconsistent with his jiu-jitsu training, Panepucci eventually adjusted his lifestyle to prioritize his sport.

“I learned that consistency doesn’t mean I go five times a day and not go for the rest of the week,” he said. “It’s better to go once every day because it’s consistent.”

One of Panepucci’s favorite skills to perform is the Berimbolo, a move from Brazilian jiu-jitsu that entails rolling over, grabbing the opponent’s ankle, flipping them over and grabbing onto their back, or hugging them. After Panepucci saw this technique on Instagram, he wanted to give it a try and asked to practice on his friend at the gym. He soon gained the confidence to perform it in sparring.

“It’s a pretty unexpected move, so I like doing it,” he said.

While Panepucci didn’t originally have much interest in competitions, he still participated because people advised him to do so. Although he, having a white belt, was intimidated by his opponents who had higher rankings, he eventually learned how to stay mentally strong during each match.

“If I have no stripes, I can still beat someone with four stripes,” he said. “(Upset victories) happen a lot, so I learned to not let that get to me and to trust myself.”

Looking forward, Panepucci wants to continue improving his jiu-jitsu skills and focusing on bettering himself.

“I’ve learned to always try and better myself by being better than who I was yesterday, rather than being better than other people,” he said.

According to Lozada, Venezuela experienced a social and humanitarian collapse due to a struggling economy and inaccessible necessities for many citizens. Although Lozada lived in a wealthy neighborhood, her living environment became unsafe due to thieves and gangs. “I heard disturbing stories about people being attacked at night, robbed in broad daylight, taken by the police and found dead,” she said.

Initially, Lozada thought that the “American Dream” meant getting married, having kids and working a decent job. However, she soon learned that it meant citizens had the equal opportunity to become successful through hard work and determination. “I wake up every morning to go to school, go to water polo or swimming practice — even if I am tired or have other things to do — and I want to learn more and more about new things by being curious in my classes,” she said.

Lozada said these activities and classes make her proud because they challenge her to stay motivated and improve. “I don’t see them as a hardship,” she said. “I see it as a challenge to myself.”

While Lozada did expect stricter laws and societal norms in the U.S., she was surprised by Americans’ culture of following them. “(In Venezuela,) most people break all the existing rules — legal, social and ethical,” she said.

Lozada’s high school in Caracas was about the size of Gunn’s football field and only offered five classes, with no option for students to change their schedules. With Gunn’s larger campus and plentiful resources, Lozada has been able to make more of her education. “Joining clubs and taking AP (Advanced Placement) classes are challenges for me,” she said. “I’ve never done something like that, and I’m really happy with the results.”

Pumpkin Spice

Everyone has heard of pumpkin-spice lattes, but what exactly goes in them? Pumpkin spice is a spice mix comprising ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice. Though pumpkin spice does not contain pumpkin, it is commonly found in pumpkin pies because it adds warmth and depth of flavor.

Apples

Although apples are picked all year long, they are ripest during fall. Of the thousands of apple varieties, Fuji apples are most commonly used in baking due to their lemony, honey-like flavor and crisp, firm texture. Golden Delicious apples are also known for their mellow but sweet flavor. Many chefs use a variety of apples to enrich taste and texture.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are seen year round but best for harvesting during the fall season. For those who enjoy eating brussels sprouts, they can be sauteed, roasted or baked with garlic and butter. Not only are they delicious, they are a good source of vitamins K and C.

Pumpkin

Pumpkins are seen everywhere during fall, in front of porches and doorways or as dessert after big Thanksgiving meals. Pumpkins are commonly used in pies, bread loaves, soups and tarts. While some like to use whole pumpkins for freshness, many prefer to use pumpkin puree for a sweeter and creamier result.

crucial to consider students’ varying learning styles
and personalities. When course policies are molded
specifically around students, it creates a comfortable
environment where all students feel motivated and are
genuinely interested in learning.
Courses that don’t accommodate different learning
paces can harm students by increasing stress and
decreasing academic performance. This dynamic was
seen in a study that measured New Orleans high school
students’ stress levels in 2018. Before taking the SAT,
which includes long periods of testing with short breaks
in between, researchers measured students’ levels of
cortisol, a stress-induced hormone. The results showed
that students with high cortisol patterns, and therefore
more stress, experienced an 80-point drop in SAT scores.
While stress can be self-induced, it is also promoted
by course inflexibility and restrictive policies. In the same
study, inherently strict testing environments resulted
in a decrease in student performance, since test-taking
abilities vary among students. A study conducted in 2020
by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry at the
University of Gondar found that 54.7% of high school
students experience test anxiety. Measuring a student’s

grasp of the material based on one test is unfair, since

students can experience anxiety, struggle to focus in high-
stakes environments or face burnout during extended

test-taking periods.
To combat this issue, courses can adopt more lenient
testing procedures. Allowing students to utilize their
learning materials during tests could help them feel
motivated to pay attention and take thorough notes.
Students can also be tested in several ways, such as
through group projects or presentations. In 2014, Eva
Chiriac, a researcher at the NIH, concluded in a study
that 97% of surveyed students preferred and felt more
comfortable in a group-work setting compared to a
restrictive testing one. Group projects and presentations
can reduce pressure and cultivate an environment of active
learning that’s motivated by genuine interest rather than
fear of failure. Test retakes are another way of increasing
coursework flexibility: Students are encouraged to truly
understand the material and learn from their mistakes
instead of disengaging from content due to low scores.
Course policies should adapt to students’ differences
rather than work against them to foster a community that
benefits all learners.

Lee didn’t start out strong in the sport, but after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he saw more promising results. Badminton is both mentally and physically challenging, but Lee felt motivated after winning matches and seeing gradual improvement. “My coaches push me a lot, and sometimes I feel like, ‘Why do I even do this?’” he said. “But at the end of the day, if you train hard, then you’ll get results, so it’s rewarding. I don’t want all that hard work to go to waste.”

In 2021, Lee won the Badminton Pan American Junior Championships’ boys doubles division. The tournament, one of the largest in the U.S., was a big milestone for him.“That was the one time in badminton recently that I felt like I actually won because I worked so hard to get there, and it felt really good to succeed,” he said.

One of Lee’s most memorable childhood moments is when he broke his racket while playing with three friends. As the shuttlecock was tossed over the net, both Lee and a friend attempted to hit it. With high hopes, Lee took a big swing to return the shuttlecock to the other side, only to witness his racket making direct contact with the back of his friend’s head and falling to the ground in two pieces.

Lee said it was a challenge maintaining a positive attitude toward the sport during his first years few years of playing. He mentioned, however, that changing his mindset to be more optimistic boosted his playing. “Fixing that mindset and changing it to be more critical-thinking and positive helped me focus and become a better player,” he said.

Though Lee is fond of badminton, he has considered trying other sports, such as volleyball. Still, he plans to continue to play badminton competitively through high school and at a lower-commitment level in college. “I want to win Pan American Junior Championships again or play in the World Juniors,” he said.

The first thing that struck Tabares when she met Peña was the culture they shared. As they are both from Mexico, Tabares and Peña speak Spanish and share similar childhood experiences. “It was like seeing myself on campus,” she said. As she got to know Peña more, Tabares saw just how committed Peña was to her values. “She really meant business when it came to something that was important to her,” Tabares said.

When Peña first got to know Tabares, she knew right away that Tabares was sweet and kind. More interactions revealed how much Tabares cared about other people, especially her students. “She is a very big advocate for her students,” Peña said. “If her student is struggling with a staff (member) or classwork, she will always be talking to them and helping them out.”

Throughout their one-and-a-half years of friendship, Peña and Tabares have shared many meaningful memories together. One that stands out the most is chaperoning last year’s Prom. They took time before the dance to get dressed up in Tabares’ classroom. “We were getting ready with our little mirrors, putting makeup on and everything,” Peña said.

Another memorable moment they shared was when they met outside of school for the first time around Halloween in 2021. They dined together at Estrellita, a Mexican cuisine restaurant, on San Antonio Road. Peña was dressed as Princess Peach while Tabares was dressed as Mavis from “Hotel Transylvania.” Complete opposites costumes-wise, they still easily connected through their conversation.

Tabares values that their strong relationship is built on good communication. She explained that they are adept at seeing different perspectives and attempting to understand each other. “We just have a really good balance and are very open to each other’s feedback,” she said.

Peña values her friendship with Tabares because of the mutual love and humor that lies between them. Whenever one person is upset, the other manages to find a way to cheer them up, and they always end up laughing together. “I feel that we are very supportive of each other, knowing that she can come to me and I can go to her for anything,” Peña said. Tabares added that they intuitively understand each other, which connects them as well. “We can just look at each other and still say so much without actually saying anything,” she said.

Part of their closeness comes from seeing each other every day. Both Tabares and Peña share their appreciation for working at the same high school. For Tabares, it brings back past memories, as if she were back in high school again, attending classes with her close friend. Peña believes that having a close friend present on campus allows her to step away from work at times. “It’s really nice because I can connect my personal life with my work,” she said. “It’s the best of both worlds.”

As the years go on, both Peña and Tabares believe that their friendship will continue to stay strong. Even if one or the other decides to leave Gunn, they promise to make an effort to continue seeing each other and stay patient. “It will only get stronger,” Peña said.

When she first started, Sonehara was careful to produce content that didn’t overlap with the productivity or aesthetic-life content of many other YouTubers. “I didn’t want to do something that’s going to be really repetitive, because there is so much similar content and it gets boring,” she said.

Since Sonehara started her YouTube channel relatively recently, she attends Zoom classes and watches other YouTubers, such as Emma Chamberlain, for motivation and inspiration. The classes provide different techniques and types of painting styles for Sonehara to implement in her own content. “I’m still looking for my art style,” she said. “So right now I’m just experimenting with a bunch of different ones, and (the classes) guide me on what to do.”

Sonehara mostly films during her free time and is not too concerned about an irregular uploading schedule. Even though she enjoys filming content, she finds it difficult to be consistent with uploading videos when she is busy with schoolwork. Additionally, creating content on top of painting can prove time consuming. “It’s definitely time-consuming to film and edit everything, rather than just paint,” she said. Sonehara also finds being a content creator challenging because there are times when she can feel unmotivated or uninspired.

Sonehara’s favorite video on her channel is “Decorating My Wall with Art I Love,” released on Aug. 14, 2022. In the video, Sonehara decorates a part of her wall with some of her favorite art pieces, which include Monkey D. Luffy (a fictional character from the “One Piece” manga series), a drawing by her grandfather, a framed motivational quote written by her grandfather and photos of different buildings and landscapes. She also puts up a framed handlettering of her name in Japanese written by her grandfather and photos of people who contributed greatly to her life. According to Sonehara, each art piece shown on the video is deeply significant to her life. “The paintings have a lot of value behind them because every piece has a different meaning,” she said.

Another one of Sonehara’s favorite videos is “The Process of Painting for an Art Show,” published on Jan. 21. Sonehara talks about her struggles with mental health in response to the art show prompt of how mental health or race can affect relationships. In the video, she explains how her painting of two linked arms, with one of the arms disappearing at the top, represents the struggle of keeping promises and trusting individuals. Looking back on older videos has provided Sonehara with a new perspective on her art. “I can compare and contrast to see what I could have done better,” she said.

As Sonehara continues to grow her channel, she hopes expand her following and gain a clearer view of what kind of content she wants to make. “Reaching the right audience of people who are passionate about art as well is really my goal,” she said.