Counseling officers at Montessori De Sagrada Familia have launched “Support 2.0,” an upgraded initiative allowing students to submit concerns through a white box or QR code, designed to strengthen mental health support across the grade school.
Radiance Faith Domingo, who oversees Grades 4-6, and Mari Haidun Salvador, who handles Grades 1-3, introduced the project during student assemblies in August alongside Vice Principal for Student Affairs Christian Anthony Valino.
The White Box project provides students a confidential space to drop written tickets containing their names, concerns, and chosen counselor, while upper-grade students may scan a QR code that links to a Google Form.
Counselors said tickets are collected daily and answered within one to three school days, followed by “kumustahan” sessions designed to help students process emotions and build resilience.
“The benefit of the SUPPORT is to provide an open, safe space for them to express their emotions, especially the experiences that they cannot express verbally to the people around them,” Salvador said.
Salvador said the most rewarding part of Support 2.0 is witnessing how students react once they receive replies to their concerns.
“What I like most about Support 2.0 is the way the eyes of our Sagradans light up whenever I hand my reply to the ticket they wrote,” Salvador said.
“What is more moving or heartwarming is their follow-up response — may it be good or bad — which shows their trust and relief that they are not alone in whatever concern they face,” she added.
On top of more than a hundred tickets generated and replied to last year — including countless complex cases unfolded through the initial launch of Support — Salvador said one student continues to send notes until now.
“His letter would always warm my heart because it only had three words — ‘I love you,’” Salvador said.
“Thinking how a first-grade learner can show us grown-ups how love can be felt and seen in the simplest, most random moments reminds us that the spark of hope does not come from grand gestures but appreciation in little, subtle moments that we were able to show care.”
“I carry this note with me — more than a counselor — but as a person who would also feel tired at times,” she added.
Moreover, Domingo explained that students receive guidance in five simple steps: look for the white box, get a ticket and pen, write their concern, shoot the ticket inside, and return the pen.
Domingo said the office handles four to five tickets a day, but not all come with complaints—some students slip in thank-yous and even “I love you” notes with their follow-up submissions.
Benefits of the initiative, according to the officers, include a better understanding of oneself, extending help to others, and cultivating a safer, well-aware Sagradan community.
Support 2.0 expands earlier counseling efforts by offering students multiple options to reach out and introducing digital access for upper-grade students, marking what counselors call a proactive shift toward student-centered care.