Skip to main content

BVT's SkillsUSA Students Teach Stress Management Tools as Community Service

Apr 27, 2017 08:00AM ● By Pamela Johnson

Shown at the 10th Annual Student Wellness Conference at Worcester State University(L-R) are junior Business Technology student Mina Dehestani , District Attorney Joseph D. Early, and Health Services junior Olivia Setzer with their stress reduction & stress management display.

UPTON – One of the ways young people learn best is through conversations with their peers and older students who have been in their shoes. The students at Stacy Middle School in Milford gained new stress management and stress reduction techniques from the BVT SkillsUSA Community Service team, who presented interactive seminars to the middle school students.
 
The BVT students brought their ROOTS campaign (Reaching Our Optimal Tranquil State) to the middle school on Monday, March 27. The campaign aims to teach the community new ways to reduce and cope with stress. The students gave hour long presentations to each grade level (sixth, seventh, and eighth) separately, which included discussion about the different types of stress, causes of stress and warning signs of too much stress.
 
“As a team, we also went over tips to managing and reducing stress in a healthy way rather than the urge to turn to those negative decisions that can be in play for middle and high school students,” said Mina Dehestani, a junior Business Technology student from Millville and member of the SkillsUSA Community Service team.
 
 
The ROOTS presentation gave the middle school students alternatives to negative reactions to stress including Zen garden boxes, Zen tangle drawings, and origami projects. Many of the students requested additional handouts to bring home with them to help continually relieve their tension.
 
The trip to Stacy Middle School was the BVT Community Service team’s fourth stop on their ROOTS campaign. The team presented at the 10th Annual Student Wellness Conference hosted by District Attorney Joseph D. Early at Worcester State University on Thursday March 23. At the conference, the students educated middle and high school students, as well as educators, on the importance of managing stress and reducing stress in order to achieve a peaceful state of mind.
 
On March 24, the team attended the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) “Faces of Addiction” Wellness Conference. The conference allowed the team to present their message to over 300 students and educators working to end the addiction crisis.
 
In addition to educating students and teachers, the students previously spent the afternoon at Beaumont Nursing Home to help the participants of the Whitney Place Adult Health Program with hands-on activities to help relax tension.
 
The Community Service Team will continue to expand the scope of its public awareness campaign by distributing literature and making presentations in schools and at events throughout Valley Tech’s 13-town district. The ROOTS campaign will be evaluated by a panel of judges on April 28 at the SkillsUSA Massachusetts State Leadership and Skills Conference Championship. A gold medal victory at the state level will qualify the project for the national championship in June in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School serves the towns of Bellingham, Blackstone, Douglas, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton and Uxbridge. Located in the heart of the Blackstone Valley, Blackstone Valley Tech creates a positive learning community that prepares students for personal and professional success in an internationally competitive society through a fusion of vigorous vocational, technical, and academic skills. The school’s website is www.valleytech.k12.ma.us.
Seasonal Favorites
Loading Family Features Content Widget
Loading Family Features Article