{"id":115421,"date":"2026-01-28T19:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115421\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T19:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:18:24","slug":"at-queens-catholic-school-wellness-center-benefits-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115421\/","title":{"rendered":"At Queens Catholic School, Wellness Center Benefits Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"Dominic Lumbera said he likes to meditate because it gives him a sense of calm. He and Ariana Palacios meditate as part of their religion class. (Photo: Paula Katinas)<\/p>\n

ASTORIA \u2014\u00a0Dominic Lumbera, a fifth grader at Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy, said is favorite school subject\u00a0is\u00a0science. His favorite room at the school, however, is the Wellness Center.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A former classroom at Immaculate Conception, the Wellness Center is\u00a0now\u00a0a meditation space\u00a0where\u00a0Dominic and his classmates can spend quiet time\u00a0as part of their religion class.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0quiet,\u00a0peaceful,\u00a0and calm,\u201d Dominic said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Set\u00a0in a sunlit room with windows\u00a0offering views of the Manhattan skyline, the Wellness Center is a popular place at Immaculate Conception, said\u00a0Principal Keri Wade-Donohue.\u00a0\u201cSometimes,\u00a0the center\u00a0is\u00a0double-booked,\u201d she\u00a0noted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the center, the\u00a0academy\u2019s\u00a0middle-grade\u00a0students\u00a0\u2014 grades five through eight \u2014\u00a0participate\u00a0in\u00a0guided\u00a0meditation sessions.\u00a0The\u00a0room\u00a0is also used\u00a0for academic counseling sessions and teacher\u00a0mentorship\u00a0programs\u00a0because of the calm atmosphere the\u00a0space provides,\u00a0Wade-Donohue explained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The center is also available for teachers on an individual basis if they need a few\u00a0minutes\u00a0of quiet time\u00a0to de-stress during a hectic day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the future, the Wellness Center may\u00a0host\u00a0yoga, nutrition\u00a0classes,\u00a0and anti-bullying\u00a0workshops for parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Wellness Center opened in 2021 to help students cope with anxiety following the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0Eventually,\u00a0it became underutilized\u00a0until Wade-Donohue rededicated it for its current purpose last year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0kind of fell\u00a0out of use, unfortunately. So last year, we made a\u00a0concerted effort to schedule counseling in there, to schedule teacher mentorship programs in there,\u00a0and of course, to have meditation in there,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Religion teacher Bryan Lewis\u00a0conducts sessions in\u00a0Ignatian\u00a0Contemplation, a guided meditation inspired by Saint\u00a0Ignatius\u00a0Loyola\u00a0that incorporates Scripture readings\u00a0and\u00a0breathing exercises.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the day The Tablet visited, Lewis\u00a0sat with the fifth-grade class in the Wellness Center and\u00a0had the children close their eyes and imagine they were in the Garden of\u00a0Gethsemane\u00a0with\u00a0Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wade-Donohue, who has\u00a0studied\u00a0Ignatian\u00a0Contemplation\u00a0on her own, said she finds\u00a0the meditation valuable and is glad students enjoy it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Wellness Center\u00a0has become a prominent part of life at Immaculate Conception, at a time when many students suffer from stress and anxiety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)\u00a0data from 2022-2023 showed that\u00a011% of\u00a0children ages 3-17\u00a0were\u00a0diagnosed with anxiety,\u00a0and\u00a04% of kids in the same age group\u00a0were\u00a0diagnosed with depression.\u00a0A\u00a0separate\u00a0CDC\u00a0survey of children\u00a0in 2023 found that 20%\u00a0of them reported symptoms of anxiety\u00a0and\u00a018% reported feeling\u00a0depressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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However, experts have found that calming activities like yoga and meditation can\u00a0benefit\u00a0students.\u00a0According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,\u00a0meditation\u00a0breaks during the school day\u00a0help\u00a0children\u00a0relax\u00a0and,\u00a0as\u00a0a result,\u00a0function better in the classroom.\u00a0In fact, the academy\u2019s healthychildren.org website includes information\u00a0encouraging teachers to incorporate meditation\u00a0training into their\u00a0lesson plans and\u00a0parents to meditate with their children at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wade-Donohue said\u00a0meditation offers\u00a0academic benefits for children, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0think\u00a0it\u00a0helps them not only focus, but to take a step back and regain their\u00a0composure,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fifth grader Arianna Palacios said\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0calmer at school thanks to the Wellness Center.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0peaceful and quiet. I like\u00a0it because it makes me feel good,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dominic Lumbera said he likes to meditate because it gives him a sense of calm. He and Ariana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-115421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}