New Club Helps Foxes to Find Their Zen

Fox Chapel Area High School has always embraced a wide variety of clubs that aim to improve the student experience. With over 80 different active clubs to join, it is clear how fundamental these clubs have been for students in encouraging self expression, creating new friendships/ connections, and giving opportunities to showcase responsibility through leadership roles. A new club, started by current sophomores Alex Navas and Ava Condron, is the Zen Club. This club is dedicated to implementing mindful activities to help manage and cope with stress, a common feeling that everyone has to deal with. Alex Navas explains the idea behind her club, “My goal for this club was to create a space where people can feel comfortable to relax and unwind from school or just anything that’s going on in their life that they need a break from.”

The club applies common anti-stress activities such as meditation, yoga, coloring, positive affirmations, calming music and more activities that act to create a place of tranquility and mindful thinking. These exercises have been proven to increase positivity and reduce negative emotions. The club additionally goes the extra mile by bringing in fresh fruit, healthy juice, and baked goods like muffins for their club members. As soon as participants enter the Zen Den for a club event, they can’t help but feel at peace due to the dim lighting and the subtle aromatic smell of lavender. Simren Sahni, a student who attended the Zen Den for the first meeting shared her positive experience. “It was really nice to have a place to relax and get a bite to eat and drink. I don’t always have time to do things like this on top of school, sports, and other extracurriculars, so it was nice being able to focus on me and not on everything going on around me.”

By Elena Curran

Clubs like this one are successful in making a positive impact on our students and high school as a whole. To be a part of Zen Club, email Alex Navas (navasgrijalva_salom@ student.fcasd.edu) or Ava Condron (condron_ava@ student.fcasd.edu) to join the Schoology page that will provide information on future meetings. Meetings often take place every couple of weeks primarily during super QRTs.