On Friday, April 24th, 2026, SBHS held its annual Mental Health Fair. The idea for the Mental Health Fair came about about 10 years ago, when Mrs. Meryl Orlando, a longtime teacher who retired last year, came up with the idea. Mrs. Orlando was very compassionate toward her students’ well-being, which is why she worked for the fair for years until she retired. The Fair has been held annually, with a team of guidance counselor Ed Rebele, SPS Supervisor Amy Finkelstein, Nurse Donna Moreen and Student Assistance Counselors Aaron Millman, Kara McQuarrie & Maura Nixon, Bridge Director Jacquelyn Novick, and Mental Health Specialist Nicholas Vitale now taking over the organization process. The event took two months for preparation and occurred during all lunches.
At the fair, there were tables from a variety of different organizations and clubs, including Bio-Medical Futures, Sweet & Savory, and the Public Health Club. They all set up their interactive tables and advertisements, promoting their views and solutions to help people cope with their mental health. In addition, there were grief tables for students who have lost a family member or sibling. One of the most visited tables was the Dog Therapy table. The black-and-white dog’s name was Sia, after the iconic singer.
Tanvi Meda (‘29), a volunteer for the event stated, “My favorite part of it was watching every person come over and listen to us. It helps expand what we’re trying to do here.” Tanvi manned the Heartfulness Meditation Center’s table, informing people about the benefits of meditation and how it helps people’s mental well-being.
The Mental Health Fair is truly a pride of SBHS, addressing the important issue of students’ well-being, when many other schools don’t otherwise address it. As Mrs. Moreen states, “The fair is really a testament to how committed we are to this cause.” In a time when high school students need to prioritize grades, extracurriculars, and social lives, they often forget to pay attention to their mental health. This leads to high schoolers often feeling extremely burnt out, even developing depression or anxiety.
For all the research done on people’s brains, there is still an increasingly large stigma around addressing mental problems. “There is a big stigma about mental health; no one wants to talk about it, so we do,” stated Mrs. Moreen when asked about the subject.
As much as people try to keep them separated, mental health issues always find a way to seep into people’s social, academic and physical lives. Mr. Millman, whose position as SAC gives him a deeper understanding of mental health issues, encourages early intervention. “The earlier you can find the cause of the problem, the better outcome they have.”
For example, depression may cause people to withdraw from friends and family, losing friends and the support of loved ones. Many families, particularly immigrant families, forget that mental health is just as integral as physical health. This must change, and the mental health fair at SBHS is the first step to helping students fix that problem. “Students get a deeper understanding from the fair about how to connect to people and get more understanding of mental health.” By providing students different solutions and methods to help improve their mental health, they can in turn help their families and others.
If you or anybody you know is struggling with mental health issues, SBHS has many wonderful professionals that you can go to for help.
