Most people would not typically venture into a bear den to relax and recharge, but when you are a Las Flores student it seems only natural. That is why the newly opened wellness space on campus is dubbed Antonio’s Lair, named in honor of the school’s mascot and spirit.
Las Flores had a counseling space at onetime for group sessions, but that space was eventually needed for another project. The counseling team went to work raising funds to create a new space in the library. They secured grant funding from Links to Learning, the Orange County Community Foundation, and the Las Flores PTSA. The project was finished using stipend funds earned from the Orange County Health Care Agency by providing the Partners4Wellness Too Good for Drugs program lessons to 4th-8th grade students last school year.
Antonio’s Lair was created to provide mental health and wellness services for students that encompass a continuum of care, supporting universal prevention for all students (Tier 1), targeted interventions and group supports for some students (Tier 2), and intensive and individualized supports for few students (Tier 3). The services are data driven and reflect the needs of individual students.
Since the soft opening last spring, the space has hosted small group counseling sessions and provided a safe space for individual students to decompress and calm down. The space is divided between a comfortable, quiet meeting place with a variety of flexible seating arrangements, soft lighting, a white noise sound machine, a guided visual meditation breathing light, as well as sensory tools including a variety of Japanese Zen gardens (a favorite of the students), weighted bear, and anti-stress tools. The other side offers space for group presentations, puzzles, coloring, and a reading corner with books for teens that teach skills for anxiety relief, mindfulness, life skills, as well as college and career exploration. Antonio’s Lair is also a calming environment to start the day for the Leadership and PBIS teams to host meetings before school as well as for our Counseling Advisory Committee meetings.
