To start off a fabulous year, Islip’s EXCEL program for the gifted has focused on mental health and social-emotional learning as a top priority. In a recent Inventing Self activity, EXCEL fifth graders were guided through a meditation in an outdoor lesson that incorporated music, a reflective writing activity and creating an artistic visual representation of the students’ “happy place,” which they can choose to go to at any time.

“We are learning how to apply positive psychology to cultivate inner calm,” said EXCEL coordinator Julia Johnson.