By: Alexa Moro

Final exams are coming up, which brings added stress to some students. Wellness activities will be available during finals, and during the time period leading up to them, in order to combat the extra stress.  Activities like guided meditation, yoga, table tennis, open gym, open fitness center, badminton, and therapy dogs will be available between the morning and afternoon finals this year.

During Midterms, these activities, and more, were available between exams. Students can expect the cookies available outside of guidance and study time available in the library between periods once again, along with the majority of activities that were available during midterms.

“During midterms wellness opportunities were offered and taken advantage of by many Staples students,” Mitteness said. “Some of the most popular activities I saw were petting dogs, basketball, and swimming.”

Students especially enjoyed the therapy dogs. “I liked the dogs. They were friendly and I’m excited for them to come back,” Avery Mendillo ’18 said.

“I think the wellness opportunities are a great idea as they allow both students and staff to have fun and recharge during a typically stressful time,” Jen Mitteness, a physical education teacher, said. Mitteness teaches Health and Wellness as part of the curriculum offered at Staples.

“Additionally, research has shown that physical exercise can help prime your mind for greater success on a exam,” Mitteness said.

According to the Student Health Services of Georgetown University, stress cane cause  symptoms like irritability, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and other side effects.

Georgetown Student Health Services suggest scheduling time for studying and staying active to combat this stress. Both solutions will be offered at school

“As far as reducing stress goes, everyone is different and therefore everyone will have a different activity that works as a stress reducer for them,” Mitteness explained, pointing to the fact that she would prefer “vigorous exercise” over petting dogs, but someone else may be the opposite.

There have already been some wellness activities that have occurred in the library, like meditation during the first 10 minutes of Friday lunch periods and silent reading occurrences in the beginning of some class periods.  The Friday meditation will continue, according to Colin Neenan, the Staples school librarian.

“We will continue Friday meditation and are trying to organize video games in the maker zone. If people just want peace and quiet before their first exam or between their two exams, the library will be a tranquil quiet study zone,” Neenan said.