A Mindful and Relaxing Wellness Weekend

“Our keynote speaker for Wellness Weekend was Fiona Brown, a professional counselor who works in Virginia,” shared Cameron H. ’23, Communications Intern. “Mrs. Brown earned her Master's and Education Specialist degrees at the University of Virginia. For more than 15 years, she has concentrated on the treatment and prevention of teen substance usage. Her goals are to raise awareness and educate and empower teens and their families to create open discussions about substances, what substance usage looks like, and its impact on individuals and their families. Her specialized area is prevention and the treatment of teen substance usage. Mrs. Brown gave an engaging talk to the Foxcroft students, throwing Starbursts candy to participants. Our Foxcroft community had a lot of fun with her as she spent the morning with our faculty, staff, and students on campus.”

Morning workshop topics included building and maintaining motivation, trail running, financial well-being, activism as self-care, mindful eating, and banishing anxiety by getting organized. The second portion of the weekend took a more hands-on and interactive approach with neurographic art, workout and stretching, vision boarding, dog walking on campus trails, mindfulness practices, and journaling for students to choose from.

“Wellness Weekend this year was the best one I have ever attended. The breakout sessions I went to helped me make goals for my future and understand what the future will bring.” – Rocky C. ’24 

“Wellness Weekend was a major hit with both speakers and workshops. I participated in the 'Self Care Through Activism' workshop, where we dove into our passions and topics we cared about. By reflecting on ourselves and finding out our interests, we were able to think about whether activism was right for us, and as it so happens, I think activism can be a form of self-care for myself! The second workshop I attended was neurographic coloring, which is a combination of art and meditation and is a perfect way to prevent stress. Overall, Wellness Weekend was a great getaway to learn about other ways to take care of ourselves and great ways to relax!” – AM C. ’25

“This year's Wellness Weekend had so many valuable sessions to choose from, but the ones I took left a greater impact on me than I expected. My first session was about trail running with Ms. Thompson, and she spoke on what there is to know about trail running, along with some problems she faced and how she overcame them during her journey. In the afternoon, I attended an abs workout led by Coach Woodruff, and to end the session, she had us do a few relaxing yoga stretches. I now have a greater knowledge of trail running and a possible hobby I'd be interested in starting, as well as a productive and relaxing workout with my peers.” – Ava R. ’25

“Wellness Weekend gave me the opportunity to catch up with many people in our community. Everything I did was relaxing and fun, from organizing my desktop with the help of Ms. Ross to creating my first vision board with Ms. Hall. With Ms. Ross, we discussed ways to stay on track, how a clean computer can provide clean thoughts, and ways to remain calm when times can become hectic. With Ms. Hall, we kicked back and listened to music while writing down short-term and long-term goals, then pulled out our creative side. Wellness Weekend of 2023 was definitely one of my favorites.” – Tashaé A. ’25

“This past weekend, I got a chance to participate in my first-ever Wellness Weekend at Foxcroft! I started the morning with a session on trail running, where Ms. Thompson explained the mental effects of being a runner. She provided some very helpful insight on how to safely run without damaging your mental or physical health. Then in the afternoon, I went on a trail walk with Ms. Tilghman and her dog, Racer. It got me thinking about how running can be peaceful and it can just be about enjoying the beautiful wildlife around you instead of stressing over your mileage.” – Rachel L. ’26