As midterms quickly approach, tensions and stress build as students face the many assignments, quizzes, reviews, and tests they are required to complete. To help students deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with high school, Student Council will be hosting a stress and mindfulness-based presentation held in the auditorium during sixth and seventh period.

The ninth and 12th graders will meet during sixth period and the 10th and 11th graders will meet during seventh period. Assistant principal Julie Hirsh offered the presentation as a way to “help give students coping mechanisms” that they can use whenever they face stressful situations.

According to the American Psychological Association, 31% of high school students feel overwhelmed because of stress and often deal with this in unhealthy ways.

“Students sometimes will miss school because they feel so stressed and they maybe will need to stay home because they just can’t cope, or they’ll come to me upset because they need me to help work through a stressful moment,” Hirsh said. “I want them to recognize those signs in themselves and to just know to stop, and to breathe and to do a couple of things to get themselves out of that moment.”

Hirsh emphasized the importance of learning to equally devote time between school and life at home.

“It’s important for whenever I’m talking to students to make sure I’m talking to them about a balance of work and life,” Hirsh said. “Yes, push yourself to try tough classes but also make sure you’re having fun in your classes and doing things that you enjoy like extracurricular classes that you really like and really have a great time in or some of those challenging classes that are maybe core subjects but you really enjoy.”

Sophomore Sara Rouse said learning to balance family, school, and extracurriculars is constantly overwhelming.

“The thing that makes me the most stressed is the large amount of homework and maintaining a high GPA with how competitive Lovejoy is,” Rouse said. “I’ve had to deal with the stress of balancing academics and athletics while maintaining good grades and leaving time for family.”

Other students struggle with the stress of deciding future plans for college and work.

“I do have a lot of stress with my college decision and not knowing where I want to go or what I want to do,” senior Parker Johnson said.

Hirsh said that this presentation will benefit students as they leave high school to help them learn how to deal with stress on their own.

“I’m hoping they can learn those problem-solving skills on their own and learn to just take a moment for themselves and work through that so when they get older they can work through them on their own,” Hirsh said.

Hirsh hopes the presentation will positively impact students and help them as they continue their education.

“I think by learning strategies to help them calm down in the moment can really help boost their health, grades, and overall happiness,” Hirsh said. “It can only benefit them in their lives.”