Students learn about health at fair

Sisters High School health students staged a health fair for seventh- and eighth-graders on February 2 and 3 at the high school.

Students from Heather Johnson's Health 2 class, EMS, and Sports Medicine classes put together various booths for students to check out. There were 23 booths covering subjects including: taking vital signs; stress reduction; mental health; nutrition; drug and alcohol information; rescue moves; wilderness survival; and more.

The fair was attended by Julie Patton's PE/Health classes. There were three sessions on Thursday and Friday with different rotations of students coming through. The seventh- and eighth-graders had "passports" with certain booths they had to go to. They would then rate the booth on appearance and interest. One of the most popular booths was the stress-reduction booth where balloon hats were being made. The kids effectively reduced their stress by wearing funny-looking hats.

The middle school students were able to interact with high schoolers and learn important aspects of health.

"The SHS Health Fair brings the best of education to one place, at one time: high school students mentoring younger students through experiential learning, demonstrative skills, hands-on activities, stimulating visuals and social interactions that excite and ignite every student," Johnson told The Nugget.

"It's a time and place where the teachers can step back and let the real learning happen.

Where EMS students can demonstrate a semester's worth of hard work, like successfully taking vital signs while teaching their 'patients' how to do it themselves.

A time and place where seventh- and eighth-graders can feel an anxiety-free connection with the high school, while older students demonstrate the intelligence, maturity, and confidence that the high school experience can provide.

"When the high school students tear down their booths, there's a tremendous sense of pride, a true sense of service, and desire to do it again. When the seventh- and eighth-graders return to the middle school there's an excitement, sense of purpose, and security for what's to come. In my opinion, that's education at its best - engaging, challenging, and inspiring."