The morning snow that fell on Wednesday, February 25, coming down hard and at just the wrong time during the daily commute, was a challenge. But it did not stop most of the people who had signed up for the third Wellness Summit at Loomis Chaffee from getting to the Island. 

“Thank you for braving the snow,” Jess Matzkin, the director of wellbeing, told the attendees gathered in Hubbard Performance Hall for the opening of the daylong event, which included a keynote speaker and various workshops. “We’re modeling flexibility today, which is what we tell our students to do. I love being together with so many colleagues and friends and am grateful for the opportunity to be in the same room with educators who also believe deeply in caring proactively for our students. If nothing else, I hope that today you will leave knowing that there are others doing a lot of great work and that you can lean on them and share ideas, policies and programs, and we will all get better by having this time together.” 

Hours later, at the closing session, the summit appeared to have met its goal. 

Madeline Warlan, the director of counseling and wellness at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Mass., was asked what she would take back to campus with her. 

“We don’t get [to spend] a lot of time with people in similar roles,” Ms. Warlan said in an interview before the closing session. "And I’m also thinking a lot about the ideas I get to take back ... a new energy and excitement, thinking about our campus, our students, in a new way.” 

Before people headed their separate ways, Jess asked if anyone wanted to share what they would take away from the summit. One attendee talked about how meaningful connection is, another about the importance of getting out of their “silos,” and yet another about shared experiences and going through things together. About 100 educators from 30 private schools had signed up for the summit, and the majority of them did not let the snow get in the way.  

Keynote speaker Kimberly O’Brien, who recently co-authored the book Mentality Wins: The Athlete’s Playbook for Thriving in Sports and Life, drove from Massachusetts. She teamed with Jonathan Jenkins, a sports psychologist, on the book. 

Ms. O’Brien said they wanted to create a book that spoke to all young athletes as whole people, not just as performers, giving them tools to master the mental side of sports, tools that can be used in all aspects of life. “If you feel great, you’ll play great,” Ms. O’Brien said. 

The book includes pillars for a winning mentality: focus (aim attention where it matters most), flow (staying locked in), finish (perform under pressure), and flourish (grow as a person and teammate). 

Ms. O’Brien spoke about the pressure and stress that athletes feel. And everyday stress, like that sudden burst of snow in the morning that quickly coated up the roads, making travel a bit treacherous. “I’m sure we were all stressed getting here,” she said. “I literally used a bunch of skills on my drive here that I will talk about. When we talk about mental skills, it’s not just on the field, on the ice, on the court. It’s about applying things everywhere in your life.” 

Other workshops led by experts in their areas included supporting parents of teens with anxiety, eating disorder prevention, supporting international students, and supporting grieving teens. The main organizers of the summit were Jess and Dean of Students Linda Hathorn.