By Alexandra Sukin ’15, Perspectives Editor
On Monday, October 29, the student body will be answering a very detailed health survey. At first I was apprehensive; would my inner secrets be revealed to Stephanie Luebbers, Upper School Head, and my teachers? Upon speaking with Luebbers and Stephanie Dunne, School Psychologist, I quickly learned otherwise.
“The answers on the survey are 100% confidential, and we want to be clear to students that we cannot get any individual student’s answers, nor do we want to,” Ms. Dunne said. The survey is comprehensive and could take up to a half an hour to answer. The survey seeks to investigate “all aspects of [students’] lives at home and at school, including questions dealing with emotional health, stress management, attitudes about and perspectives on school, health behaviors, and strengths and coping skills,” Ms. Dunne said.
It sounded a little scary, to me at least. But don’t worry: the purpose of the survey is not punitive in any way. Mrs. Luebbers reassuringly explained that the school heads simply “want to get a full picture of our student wellness. This can guide us in programing and planning for how to support our student body.” For this reason, it is important that students try their best to answer questions honestly and take the survey seriously. Ms. Dunne noted that “This survey will give students the opportunity to say what they really think about different aspects of their lives, both at home and at school.”
Grades 4-8 will all be taking similar surveys, altered to account for age differences. According to Luebbers, the idea for the survey developed because “Healthy students and a healthy community contribute to the successes of the community and individual students in the community.” Head of School Dr. Robert Macrae and the division heads of the school want to ensure that each student at Country Day is healthy both physically and mentally, and that the school has an overall happy and welcome environment. Ms. Dunne hopes that the outcome “will be that our students and our school will become an overall healthier and happier place for everyone to be and that students will leave CCDS with all the tools they need to manage life in college and beyond.”