Student-driven ‘Change To Chill’ room helps students identify and manage stress

Burnsville High School was selected to be a pilot school for a program called Change to Chill (CTC) after applying for and receiving a grant through Allina Health. 

Fully funded by Allina Health for the 2019-20 school year, the CTC program helps teens identify and manage stress, learn how to de-escalate, practice mindfulness and much more.

Senior Kathleen Fritz and junior Kylie Krick applied and received a grant to intern with CTC in the summer. They created a student-only “Chill Zone" room, located in the counseling department, for students to use when they need to decompress. 

“The Chill Zone is a safe place where students can take a break,” said Kylie. “You can just come in and relax if you’re having a bad day or need some time to yourself.”

“This is something that I am so proud to be a part of,” said school counselor and CTC advisor Veronica Marshall. “And it is definitely something new for BHS to try. The best part is that it’s created and led by students and, in partnership with Allina, it’s proven to have successful and sustainable intervention tools.”

Allina Health also paid for the entire staff training on the CTC program and how it can be implemented into the classrooms.

Marshall added: “We are grateful to Allina for this partnership and the collaborative focus on creating and supporting a culture of well-being in the school community. CTC gives students practical tools to use every day to manage their anxiety and stress and helps them to re-engage with the rest of their day instead of shutting down. I love it!”

Burnsville High School will be recognizing Sept. 16-20 as “Change to Chill Week.” Each day, a brief announcement will be read over the intercom at the beginning of one of the class periods and a theme will be in place for each day. The themes are:

• Mindfulness Monday = how to calm thoughts down, stay present, decrease anxiety

• Too Kind Tuesday = practicing gratitude, and being thankful for people in your life

• Work it out Wednesday = Exercise helps lower stress & anxiety - get moving!

• Throw it out Thursday = all the things that negatively weigh us down, it is time to throw out!  Also to clean out negative emails, posts, voicemails and texts!

• Fun Friday = letting yourself have fun & enjoy life … BALANCE!!!!

Change to Chill is a free, online resource that offers a wide variety of activities and information for both teens and caring adults around topics such as mindfulness, guided imagery, practicing gratitude, resiliency building and more. For more information, visit https://www.changetochill.org.