PAWS, a rebranded WellSpace room, officially opened for BOHS staff and the ninth and tenth grades on Oct. 23.
The room, located adjacent to the library, is an ongoing collaboration with Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) that provides an accessible and safe space for students and staff to decompress when they feel anxious and stressed during school hours.
PAWS, a play on the word “pause,” was transformed into a reset space for students — currently ninth and tenth graders only — on Wednesdays, and for BOHS staff on Fridays, to “rejuvenate,” according to Jennifer Cormier, guidance counselor.
The room provides access to a “variety of positive coping strategies,” including mindfulness apps, a record player, a Hoberman sphere, aromatherapy, painting, and other tools beneficial to mental health.
“Everything in the room is research-based to help people with relaxation, with coping, with anxiety, whatever it is they’re experiencing,” Cormier said.
Access to the room is initiated by either a student request or the student’s teacher. If a teacher notices a student showing signs of stress or anxiety, for example, they can refer them to the room via a Google Form (which was shared with faculty by the counseling department). The student will then receive a call slip with instructions to walk to the PAWS room. When the student signs in to the room using the iPad to scan the QR code, both the teacher and the attendance office are notified in an email. Students then have 10 minutes to decompress in the space.
The use of PAWS falls under confidentiality rules, meaning the child’s parents or guardians will not be notified. An exception, according to Cormier, is if the crisis “falls under the three exceptions of confidentiality: child abuse, potential harm to self, or potential harm to others.”
“The PAWS WellSpace is designed for students to utilize briefly, but is not appropriate if a student is in an immediate crisis,” Megan Jansen, guidance counselor, said.
The room, funded by a grant from CHOC, was originally scheduled to open in March. However, due to a social worker not being accessible at the time of launch, the space remained closed.
However, the delayed launch provided extra time for the PAWS program staff time to adjust their plans based on the data of other high schools who utilize similar spaces.
“Part of the [benefit of the delay] is that we got to attend meetings where other schools that have the WellSpace talked about ideas, like how they did one thing, how they did another, about what mistakes they made. One of the things we realized is that it’s better to go slow,” Cormier said.
The PAWS WellSpace room, located in room 200 at the north end of the library, is currently available to freshman and sophomores on Wednesdays, and to BOHS faculty and staff on Fridays, who are in need of a pause during school hours. Students may request access to the room from their teachers, or a teacher may refer the student via the Google Form. Students in need of extra assistance should use “Text-a-Tip” (401-542-2287), or dial 988.
