Support + Wellness The S+Well

The mission of the Support + Wellness Department is to promote student awareness and life skills development around a variety of topics that affect health and well-being. An intentional effort is made to cultivate a classroom atmosphere uniquely different from other courses to effectively address and explore age-appropriate social and emotional topics. Topics include values identification, goal setting, decision-making, time management, stress management, communication strategies, interpersonal relationships, peer pressure and teen risk behavior. An underlying goal is to create an empathetic, compassionate and resilient student body. Social Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEEL) skills are taught in various settings which provide students with leadership training and meaningful opportunities that include and extend the Punahou School community. The department provides proactive, experiential, academic and skills-based training addressing the psychological, social and emotional aspects of human development.

Course Offerings SURF I This is the foundation course that introduces students to the Punahou competencies that align with the CASEL skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. These skills are taught through the lens of the competency architecture with a projectbased focus on mastery learning.

Required for grade 9. Semester course. No credit.

SURF II This course builds on the work of SURF I by extending the Punahou competencies that align with the CASEL skills: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. These skills are taught through the lens of the Aims of a Punahou Education with a project-based focus on mastery learning.

Required for grade 10. Semester course. No credit. College Guidance The course teaches students about the college admissions process and encourages good decision-making by students and their families through careful student self-assessment and reflections, thereby reducing anxiety. Throughout the semester, 11th graders and their college counselor explore the best academic, social and financial fits and help guide the student with their options following graduation from Punahou. Topics covered include decision-making steps and the process of choosing a college, self-assessment (what college environment is best for the individual student), admission factors, admission plans, standardized tests and their role in college admissions, college costs and financial aid and using technology and current resources.

Required for grade 11. Semester course (Fall semester). No credit. Peer Teaching (Teaching Assistant) Peer Teaching is a course in service to the Punahou School community. During the semester(s) in which they are enrolled, peer teachers/mentors are assigned to serve as student facilitators under faculty supervision in a variety of service opportunities in Junior School and Academy courses. Service placements include K – 1 playground play, fifth-grade morning meetings, eighth-grade advisory as well as Chapel support and working with the 9th and 10th grade SURF classes. Additionally, on a voluntary basis, peer teachers/mentors staff Outdoor Education programs. Peer mentors who choose to staff these programs may be required to attend a training retreat.

Open to grades 11, 12. No prerequisites. Semester course. One-half credit. Satisfies elective credit. This course may be repeated for credit.

Advanced Placement Psychology This is a college-level introductory course in psychology that prepares students through a variety of learning modalities for the Advanced Placement Psychology Exam, whereby students may earn college credit and/or advanced placement. An extraordinary range of topics is covered, which include the historical development of major psychological theories addressing human behavior, biological basis of behavior, human development, learning, memory, sensation and perception, drug addiction, psychological assessment, psychological disorders and treatment approaches. Students are recommended to take the AP Exam in May and the fee for the exam will be charged to the student’s account.

Open to grades 10, 11, 12. No prerequisites. Year course. One credit. Advanced Placement courses must be taken for a letter grade. Satisfies elective credit. Positive Psychology What enables humans to live our best lives? What skills and mindsets allow us to flourish? What are the secrets to becoming more resilient and capable of bouncing back from life’s challenges? Those are just some of the questions research in positive psychology attempts to answer. Positive psychology calls for a focus on strength, building upon the best aspects of life and fulfilling the lives of healthy people as much as we focus on weakness, repairing the worst and healing the wounds of the distressed. While acknowledging that the concern with human problems is important, positive psychologists suggest the incompleteness of the history of psychology steeped in the disease model. To promote human potential, people need to start with different assumptions and pose different questions; this paradigm shift is positive psychology. In this course, students dive into these topics based on University of Pennsylvania professor Dr. Seligman’s PERMA™ theory of well-being. In this theory there are five building blocks that enable flourishing – Positive motion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment (PERMA™). Each of the five blocks are learned, along with techniques to increase each. Students look into these theories and apply them through different lenses. students learn the basic theoretical concepts and supporting research. Learning includes both theoretical research and experiential practical application.

Open to grades 9, 10, 11, 12. No prerequisites. Semester Course. One-half credit. Satisfies elective credit. Performance Psychology Performance Psychology provides students the opportunity to learn the application of psychological principles to all types of performance (artistic, athletic, academic) for all levels of skill. Specifically, students study training and preparation techniques (including visualization and breathing exercises) and discuss how one’s mindset and physical health factors in to achieving maximal performance.

Open to grades 9, 10, 11, 12. No prerequisites. Semester course. One-half credit. Satisfies elective credit.

Sports Psychology (S) See page 82 in the Summer section.