U-High students are notorious for choosing to study rather than sleep and stumbling through the school day stressed about an upcoming test or a growing pile of homework. Thanks to three physical education teachers, stress relief is on the way.

Debbie Ribbens, Megan Janda and Nichole Magliocco have worked together to incorporate more wellness classes into the P.E. curriculum, including a new core strengthening class to help students find stress relief through simple exercises such as meditation, yoga and fitness.

“When students graduate, we want them to have a good idea of how to keep healthy in doing things not only for your body but for your mind,” Ms. Magliocco said.

The Core Strengthening class was added this year because teachers noticed through fitness testing results that students were not performing as well as in previous years in the push-ups and sit-ups categories.

“We want to give students tools to deal with their day to day stress,” Ms. Ribbens, who taught the class, said.

Core Strengthening ended up being a huge success with lots of positive feedback from the students, Ms. Ribbens said. The P.E. department plans to offer it again at least once during the 2018-19 school year.

“I loved Core because my teacher was so energetic and the exercises were so fun,” sophomore Sara Gregg, who took the class earlier this year, said. “The class really fueled my morning and helped me start the day with a better attitude.”

The department offered Stress Redux earlier in the quarter and is currently offering Yoga/Pilates.

Stress Redux is being offered for the seventh year in a row and is always very popular among the students, said Ms. Ribbens. In Stress Redux classes, students practice different types of meditation to figure out what helps them the most, whether that is through breathing, walking or even coloring.

Over the past few years, students have colored mandala coloring sheets in Stress Redux, but this year, Ms. Janda, Ms. Magliocco and Ms. Ribbens wanted to add something new. They decided give students the opportunity to make mala bracelets, which are bracelets made with colorful beads that help students set goals for how they want to treat themselves and others as they are making them.

Each bead color has a different meaning, so when students make their bracelet, the colors they pick help them find a focus. For example, red represent love and energy, pink represents health and happiness, and gray represent security and reliability.

“There are also lava beads, which hold a scent, so you can put essential oil on it to help the students with relaxation and destressing through different scents,” Ms. Magliocco said.

P.E. teachers encourage students to suggest new wellness classes.