Students won't sweat these lessons

Test taking can take its toll.

When my niece was in high school, she would get so nervous about taking tests that she could hardly function. She stressed before the test and she was nervous during the test. Both affected her performance. However, she went on to become an award-winning teacher.

With so much riding on ACT and SAT scores, it is understandable that high school students get stressed about the entrance exam tests. However, I was quite surprised to visit a sixth-grade classroom last week and learn that stress is a real factor in the life of a sixth-grader.

"How many of you get stressed before taking a test?" I asked.

Almost the entire class raised their hands.

To combat stress, the students were working with student teacher Molly Colello to do stress-relieving exercises.

To the music of the tropics, Julia Stanch led her classmates in a series of exercises that seemed part yoga, part tai chi and part stretching.

"Go back to your vacation spot," Colello said, "Breathe in slowly. Just relax. Remember you can always go to a calming place in your mind before a test."

Katie Cervantes felt the exercises were working.

"It helps you forget about why you are feeling stressed," she said.

Dealing with stress is just one of the topics that sixth-graders at Rotolo Middle School learned about during February Wellness Month. They also learned about healthy eating. The message of healthy eating is going home to the families of the students as well.

In the past, Rotolo staff members awarded those classes that had the most students with healthy lunches. Called "Gotcha," the activity keeps track of the healthy eating habits of students.

The study of healthy snacks even made it into the classroom. Students of Julia Swider chose to combine a healthy snack -- the apple -- with the study of math.

Swider purchased a 3 pound bag of apples and the students set up their own store so that they could purchase the apples. With the unit price in hand, they figured out how much to charge. All sales are rounded up to the nearest nickel and any extra money will be donated to a charity later this spring.

"One time the grocery store undercharged us for the apples and we had to decide what to do," Karissa Murphy said.

The students decided to let the store know that they had been undercharged and offered to pay the correct price. The manager refused, letting the students keep the money for their charity.

"It's good to do the right thing," Swider said.

Amber Strandlund explained that the class set up an IOU system for students who didn't have the money to buy an apple.

The math lessons were everywhere.

"We use division and multiplication when we look at the unit price and figure out how much to charge," Breena Hoffner said.

They also learned about quick sale and discounting.

"Sometimes an apple is bruised," Laura Lyons said. "We offer those at a discount."

They also learned about the impact of debt.

"When we had a lot of IOUs it hurt out prices," said David Alonzour. "When they were paid off our prices improved."

The greatest reward was enjoying the delicious fruit.

In Mark Montgomery's class, Laura Abraham was teaching basic first aid skills, explaining how to apply pressure to a wound. Each student was properly clad in latex gloves. Even though they had been through the lesson, some of the kids were worried about doing the right thing in an emergency.

"It would be hard if you had to do it give first aid to your family," said Robert Napierkowski.

In conjunction with the wellness activities, the kids also collected food for the food pantry, knowing that some need extra help at this time of year.

Helping others is an important lesson, hopefully one the students will carry through life.