The Midtown High School Student Mental Health Advisory Board and PTSO hosted a Holiday Movie Night on Dec. 12. They screened Charlie Brown Christmas and Home Alone, hoping to give students a small break before the busy exam season starts.
“I was hoping [this event would] encourage students to take a break from their work for a bit, especially right before exam season, so they could just have some time to do something mindless,” sophomore and SMHAB board member Lucy Timmons said.
The SMHAB’s mission is to promote mental health within the school, and they felt that this movie night, as an opening event, would do just that.
“We have tons of data to suggest that personal relationships and community are the keys to long-term health and mental well-being,” Dr. Cheryl Nahmias, student support specialist and student mental health advisory board sponsor, said. “I think the more opportunities we can provide for students and adults to gather in relaxed social settings, the better off our community will be. I loved having it right out on the front lawn in an open, welcoming space.”
The event was centered around students’ choices and wants. A few months prior, the SMHAB collected anonymous worksheets in the courtyard to hear directly from students about activities they wanted to attend.
“A lot of students picked social event, so we decided a movie night would be a nice event to allow students to socialize while also not taking too much work to set up,” Timmons said.
The movie night was a simple activity, and the advisory board believed it was the easiest to act on in a short amount of time.
The PTSO and the Student Mental Health Advisory Board compiled the suggestions from students and chose the movie night option. They plan on trying to make movie nights a recurring event for the students, said Nahmias.
“We asked students what type of ‘programming’ they’d most like to see at Midtown to improve students’ mental well-being,” Nahmias said. “The number one answer was ‘music in the courtyard,’ which we’re working on, and the number three response was ‘social gatherings,’ like movie nights, game nights, etc. We thought that was a good one to go ahead and act on, so we asked PTSO to get us a giant inflatable movie screen to use. We’re hoping that movie nights become a regular event for Midtown.”
Social gatherings, like the movie night, encourage togetherness and make sure students and teachers know that they have people to talk to and rely on.
“Just that they know that this is the time of year that everyone comes together and just enjoys each other’s presence,” Sophomore and SMHAB board member Kevin Lewis said. “Overall, just to know that they have somebody if they need anything and if anything happens.”
Timmons and Nahmias also shared the same feelings, stating that they hoped the event reminded people to take a break every once in a while. The holidays are a season that emphasizes coming together and celebrating with family and friends. The SMHAB exemplified this in their movie night, bringing together families and students.
“I really enjoyed sitting outside relaxing after a long week,” Nahmias. “Ms. Carter and Ms. Black were there with me, with their families. It was great to hang out with students and colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.”
Promoting a relaxed and festive atmosphere was an important consideration when planning. The SMHAB wanted to promote mental well-being in the school environment, a place where it is highly likely that students are stressed.
“The theme was festive, and everyone loves movie nights, as well as it can take their minds off final week for a little bit and just vibe and have fun,” Lewis said.
Nahmias added to this sentiment, sharing that she felt students enjoyed themselves and that it was laid back and friendly, adding to the comfort of the attendees.
“I thought the atmosphere was great; it was very laid back and friendly,” Nahmias. “Students who attended were happy to have hot chocolate and popcorn.”
The planners of the event felt that seeing their project coming together was very rewarding, and reminded them of what’s important to celebrate.
“Personally, the best part was simply how many people came together to see this moment,” Lewis said. “So many people came with friends and family and even their significant others, I found that extremely rewarding..”
The movie chosen was also a very conscious choice by the advisory board. They wanted a movie that most everyone was familiar with, so that it still allowed for conversation and interaction, without worrying about missing parts of the movie.
“I think the thing that stood out to me was how a movie can be a cultural touchstone for a group to gather around,” Nahmias said. “I’m pretty sure everyone has seen Home Alone multiple times, so it’s fun to watch something like that together and still be able to talk and walk around and be social while still enjoying a common experience.”
The student board members played a very important role in making this movie night happen. They all had specified jobs to make sure the process went as smoothly as possible.
“We split up jobs,” Lewis said. “Half of us promoted the event, and the other half actually showed up to pass out food to everyone who came.”
This also facilitated teamwork and partnership within the group, bonding board members and allowing them to communicate effectively whilst helping out the attendees.
“I made popcorn for the event and then Kevin, [Lewis] and I gave people popcorn and hot cocoa during the movie,” Timmons said. “It was really nice to see people relax and have fun.”
The SMHAB hopes to sponsor more events like this one in the future. They hope to promote school-wide mental health and to give every student a place to socialize and have fun after school.
“I want us to be able to host more movie nights like this, especially as the weather gets warmer,” Nahmias said. “I think game nights are another easy way for people to gather and be social, and maybe learn something new. We’ll keep trying to schedule things that bring our community together.”
