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What do horses and scents have in common with a fluffy blue creature with a letter as a name? It’s sleep!
Earlier this year, a schoolwide survey by Hillgrove Secondary suggested many students were unsure how much sleep they needed and what habits might help them sleep better. So, the school decided to make sleep the focus of its Health and Youth Week this year. The initiative, which has been running annually since 2023, celebrates youths and empowers students to take charge of their holistic well-being.
Bookending the week were two partner events: the distribution of sleep kits from Limitless, a non-profit organisation (containing items such as eye masks and calming scents), and the Mission Zzz Sleep Challenge starring Z the sleep mascot, piloted with the Ministry of Education’s Communications and Engagement Group.
Horses, plushies and the chance to connect
This year’s Health and Youth Week theme was “Thrive” and it opened with an unexpected and memorable experience: miniature horses.
In the school hall, students engaged with and groomed miniature horses from Equal Ark, a registered charity that conducts equine-assisted programmes to support socio-emotional learning and development.
Guided by Equal Ark’s trained facilitators, students learnt to approach and interact safely with the miniature horses, while observing and responding to their behaviours and body language. Beyond the novelty of the experience, these purposeful interactions provided opportunities for students to build confidence, practise self-management and develop greater awareness of how their own emotions and behaviours can influence those around them. Students also took part in games related to sleep wellness and craft activities at the canteen, which set the tone for chilling and relaxation.
The miniature horses created a buzz at the school hall.
On one of the days of the Health and Youth Week, students – and teachers – brought their favourite plushies to school and exchanged stories about them during assembly, recess and CCE lessons. “The idea,” says Acting Year Head Joel Tan, “was to make conversations around sleep feel light and approachable, rather than clinical.”
Vice-Principal Mr Edwin Lim also shared the science and importance of sleep at the assembly talk. He ended it emphasising that sleep is “as essential as food, water and air, and Hillgrove Secondary is committed to helping students build the habits to protect it.”
Students and teachers were thrilled to bring their favourite plushies for a show-and-tell – all part of inviting wellness into the school.
Turning sleep habits into a game
This Mission Zzz game card is nearly completed!
The Health and Youth Week ended with the start of the month-long Mission Zzz Sleep Challenge.
Each student received a card with 16 activities to try, ranging from getting sunlight in the day (yes, it promotes deeper sleep) to leaving their phones outside the bedroom at night.
Students who completed a row could exchange their cards for a turn at the capsule machine during recess on Friday, to get Z-themed keychains and stickers among other goodies.
“From crowding around the machine to checking out the Zzz comics pinned on the board – the energy has been incredible, and it’s been so heartening to see,” says Mr Tan.
The challenge also extended into students’ homes. Parents signed off on their child’s challenge cards to acknowledge their efforts. “Sleep wellness is a team effort between home and school,” Mr Tan says. “It’s been a winning formula.”
Art students also played a role, collaborating with MOE to develop storyboards and comics promoting sleep wellness.
Students completed sleep challenges and filled up game cards to trade for a chance to win Z mascot merchandise.
Hillgrove Secondary Principal Mrs Helen Tan-Lee lending support to Amirah Marsya bte Mairuzan, a Secondary 3 student who took part in the Mission Zzz Comics Challenge.
Catch Student Council President Gonzales Maricleo Cueto (above and in the reel below) and her schoolmates introducing the Mission Zzz Challenge and Health and Youth Week.
The prizes may get students started, but Mr Tan hopes the habits will last longer than the challenge.
“At the end of the day, we hope students don’t just complete the challenge but actually carry these small habits with them long after it’s over.”
Mr Joel Tan
Photos courtesy of: Hillgrove Secondary School and Equal Ark
