The RBHS Media Center will host an interactive yoga program for the second day of the month-long relaxation initiative, “De-Stress December,” at 8:30 a.m Dec. 4. This is one of many events planned for the month including animal visits, music and video games hosted by various community member and businesses. Relaxing activities like Rubik’s cubes and coloring books, as well as information and suggestions on how to manage academic and social pressures, will be in the Media Center for student use throughout the month. Programs will be available to students every school day from Dec. 2 to Dec. 20, with time slots ranging depending on the event.

RBHS Media Center Specialist and organizer of the events Jill Varns, said the Media Center hopes to provide a diverse outlet for students to relieve tension during the hectic few weeks preceding Winter Break. 

“I think [the purpose of ‘De-Stress December’] is to provide [students] with information about techniques that they can use to de-stress themselves,” Varns said. “We tried to get a variety of things. For instance, we bought a bunch of Rubik’s cubes, and they’ve been really popular, and one got stolen even. Some people use that kind of thing to de-stress; some people would rather go outside and go for a walk. For me, the Rubik’s cube is stressful, so we try to do a lot of different things to provide.”

The combination of finals and the end of the semester can make December can especially stressful time for students. Sophomore Nina Schneider said she believes the initiative could help lessen this pressure.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea because December, while Christmas and holidays are amazing, can be really stressful,” Schneider said. “Finals suck, and they are very much present in the lives of all high schoolers.”

Junior Vishnu Arun said he also thought the initiative was a good idea to help relax students during a challenging time of year. He, however, said he does not plan on attending an event.

“I definitely think it’s a good idea for people that aren’t as busy but are still stressed. It would definitely help their mental health during a really busy month of the year,” Arun said. “ Honestly, [I do not plan on attending] because I have way too much work. I understand that it’s good for de-stressing, and I should be attending them, but I don’t have time for de-stressing.”

In addition to providing a service for students, Varns said she hopes it will increase use and awareness for the Media Center and it’s programs. 

“We’re trying to do more programming to get more people down here and to sort of show the Media Center [is] a center of all kinds of information, not just books and computers,” Varns said. “It’s a promotional activity that we’re [going to] try to do some additional months the rest of the year. We figured December’s a little bit of a stressful month for teachers and for students, so we hope this can help.”

How do you de-stress? Let us know in the comments below.