Rams keeping it healthy at Chatham Middle School
SILER CITY — Far be it from any educator to even suggest that middle-schoolers could use a little help with hygiene.
But on the off chance that somebody at Chatham Middle School needed some toiletries, Communities In Schools of Chatham County student support specialist Tiara White had a robust display of soap, lotion, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner during a wellness fair in the media center. She also had toothbrushes spread across a table and encouraged students to change theirs every six weeks. Chatham Middle seventh-grader Makayla Vargas said that’s news she could use.
That was the idea Chatham Middle counselor Abby Bishop and Communities in Schools intern Miranda Manzanarez had in mind with the wellness fair.
Representatives from the Chatham County Public Health Department were in the media center warning students about the dangers of nicotine — whether that’s from regular cigarettes or electronic cigarettes.
Another of the takeaways Vargas took from the wellness fair was understanding her right to feel good inside relationships.
“Don’t let someone peer pressure you into doing something that you’re not comfortable with,” Vargas said.
“You need to say, ‘No,’ if you’re not OK with something, and you need to learn to speak for yourself,” Chatham Middle seventh-grader Korbyn Kirchner said.
With respect to nutrition, students were able to clutch what five pounds of fat feels like, and, along with a container holding the sugar content in a cup of ice cream, students were able to get an appreciation of the amount of caffeine in a cup of iced coffee.
Not all of the information at the wellness fair was breaking news. Chatham Middle seventh-grader Azaria Mason said she already knew the importance of consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables. But she appreciated the reminder to not eat so much junk food.
“I’ve been doing that,” Mason said.
Published April 18, 2019