Starting Aug. 5, the Health Department has been hosting a Back to School Bash at the Lynnfield Meeting House each Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and will continue doing so until Sept. 23.
Health Director Coral Hope and Dr. Jennifer Burns, a member of the town’s crisis-prevention team, are hosting the activities for students ages 12 to 15 years old.
This is the first year the Health Department has hosted this program, Hope said.
The goal of it is to help provide students with an “awareness” of what they will face in high school, she added.
“Going to high school is huge and I thought this would make it a lot easier for them to just give them some tools,” Hope said.
The weekly programs focus on stress-relief and -management tools, time-management skills, wellness and fitness education, and relationship-building, she said.
The Monday nights contain a mix of crafts and an education lesson, Hope said.
Next week on Sept. 2, Dr. Burns will host a mindfulness workshop, Hope said.
She said Dr. Burns plans to go over skills on how people can give themselves positive feedback and check in with their own mental health.
The following week on Sept. 9, the Police Department, Fire Department, and elected town officials are invited to join students for an ice-cream social.
The goal of the night is to allow students to build and develop relationships with adults in the community who can support them, Hope said.
“It’s good to get to know them now and make some relationships with them,” she said.