Students today face obstacles that previous generations have gone through as well as some that they haven’t; however, Awareness Week gave students the opportunity to learn life lessons that will assist them in any situation, for any generation.
March 5 to March 9 was Awareness Week, and many of the students got involved as well as outside organizations and Massapequa High School’s own WMHS.
“Thanks to the WMHS Broadcasting club for again creating PSAs and a playlist to reflect the topics of each day,” MHS social worker Joanne Waters said.
Throughout the week students were given the chance to participate in workshops that helped them understand important life lessons in acceptance, responsibility and courage.
During Responsibility Day the workshop Fatal Vision, thanks to YES Community Counseling, got students involved in a drunk-driving simulation.
Students put on specialized goggles and tried doing simple tasks such as walking in a straight path or having a catch. The simulation allowed students to understand the difficulty of doing tasks while under the influence.
Students who participated walked away with the understanding that doing the easiest of tasks is a new level of difficulty while drunk; therefore, driving while under the influence is a poor decision.
At Mr. Labella’s stress and meditation workshop, students learned how to properly handle stresses that may come about in life. The workshop not only taught how to relieve and avoid stress, but that some stresses are eustress, which are positive forms of stress which help push students to excel.
Pupil personnel Joanne Waters and Diane Marascia want to thank the administration for their support for Awareness Week, the teachers for bringing their classes to the workshops and the students for participating in the presentations.
“We want to thank secretaries Debbi Csajko and Annette Polly for all their help this year,” Marascia said.
“Through everyone’s combined efforts, we had our most successful program this year,” Waters said. “It proves once again that when we work together for the benefit of our students, we are the most successful.”
Awareness Week at MHS was once again a success and continued the vital tradition of educating students on how to approach situations, make the right decision, and learn lessons that go outside of the classroom.