Let's Talk About Stress

While our students still feel that finals are off in the distance, the Middle School staff has been planning for the weeks following Thanksgiving break, that will surely come fast and furious as we work to prepare 7th and 8th grade students for their final exams.

Knowing that this time can quickly lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed, we are working to give students the tools they need to navigate the end of the semester before that busy time hits.

In Advisory students have been discussing organization and time management strategies and practicing them with their advisors.  Next week 7th and 8th grade students will each complete a finals study plan - ask them to see it at home!  In December we will share specific test taking tips will all students through the advisory program.

This week students have been working with me in Wellness lessons.  6th grade students met with me on Monday to talk about what stress is, the science behind the stress reactions our bodies have and how we can control our reactions to stress in a healthy way.  Each student had about 25 minutes to create their own individual stress management plan using their favorite app.  Ask your child to share their creation with you and talk about their stress management plan with them.  Here are a couple of examples of plans that students created:

Stress Plan Video

Click here to watch a video created by one of our students!

7th Grade students are participating in their Wellness lesson today (Friday).  They will talk about having busy schedules and using their time wisely, in addition to discussing strategies to overcome test anxiety.  The strategies being presented to the 7th grade are: 

1. Reframe It - What is finals about?  Why do we do them?  Instead of focusing on negative feelings you have about finals, think about how they are a helpful part of your learning process. What can you gain from taking finals? How is this helpful to you?
2. Positive Self-Talk Catch any negative thoughts you have (This is too hard - I can't do it - I'll never pass) and turn them around. Tell yourself that you can take big tests well, you are capable, you are doing the work to be prepared and put it in perspective, it's only a test.
3. Deep Breathing (This is something all grades practice in our lessons) Put your hand on your stomach, breathe in deep through your nose and fill your abdomen with air. Hold for 3 seconds. Breathe out through your mouth, repeat. This calms the brain and slows the heart rate - things that counter our bodies natural stress response and help us maintain focus.
4. “Brain Dump”  Write it out, crumple it up, make a basket. Students will write out their worries and fears, get them out, just release all those worries. Then crumple up their paper - not allowing those fears to crowd their head any longer. They will release more tension by playing basketball and shooting them into a basket.

8th Grade students worked with me on Tuesday. We spent our Wellness time taking a self-rating stress scale. Students marked off stressful situations they had encountered this school year or were currently experiencing. We discussed stress as relative, that what is stressful to one person might not be stressful to another. As such, each person may interpret their results differently. I did share the average scores with all students by email later in the day, so that they could compare their results with those of the peers. Each student had two opportunities to request a follow up appointment with me if they wanted. Some students did take advantage of this and we are meeting over the next few days. Of course, any time a student wishes to meet with me, they are welcome to make that request. We ended the lesson by talking about how social media can sometimes be stressful and watched a clip from The Ellen Show about how some people's pictures on Facebook got them into a bit of an uncomfortable situation!