Dec. 5 to 9 was Wellness Week at UHS, a week for students to unwind and relax with just one week left before finals. No matter what grade they are in, high school students experience a lot of stress during finals: the exam season brings on poor sleep, worsened mental health and a sour holiday mood. The level of tension reaches a maximum before winter break, making events like Wellness Week much needed for students’ well-being. 

On Monday, Dec. 5, a post on the UHS Trojan Army Instagram titled, “Something to know: Fentanyl,” marked the start of Wellness Week. The post raised awareness of the fentanyl war, which is a nationwide drug overdose problem across the United States. Fentanyl is a deadly drug that has been the cause of thousands of overdoses and poisonings and is lethal at even two milligrams.  

The second day of Wellness Week consisted of Hope Squad sponsoring a poster-making event at the Crossroads. Hope Squad is a school-affiliated student group dedicated to promoting students’ mental health. Reliable classmates are trained to spot at-risk students, offer friendship, or refer individuals to an adult for assistance after being nominated by their peers. During lunch, the UHS Hope Squad organized a project where students created posters with encouraging words for students studying for finals, landing a success with the many eager UHS students participating in it. 

In addition to the student poster-making event, ASB worked with the Fine Arts Commissioners and counselors of Hope Squad to make self-care posters for teachers’ classrooms.

“Teachers will have the option to choose between a suicide or stress and anxiety poster later next week,” Wellness Commissioner Shannon Hegarty said.

The MPR served tea during lunch on the third day of Wellness Week, Dec. 7, accompanied by a silent study session. Tea bags and hot water were made available to students by the school so that they could all enjoy warm cups of tea. Inspirational and motivational words were written on each cup to brighten everyone’s day. Although this day of Wellness Week didn’t attract as many people, students’ systems were undoubtedly calmed by the tea.

The next day, a friendship bracelet-making event was held, which originally was promoted alongside a hot cup of hot chocolate. Lots of people showed up to this event, not only to fashion friendship bracelets but also in hopes to grab a sweet drink from the MPR before fifth period. Sadly, to everyone’s disappointment, hot chocolate was not served at this event. 

“We only hosted friendship bracelet making, but no hot chocolate because the water was too cold,” senior Shannon Hegarty said.

The final day of Wellness Week was “Bring Your Bed to School Day, ” held on Friday, Dec. 9. The day brought on a slew of students who were seen walking around campus in their pajamas, sporting various styles that were fascinating to observe. Because pajama pants are so comfortable, many UHS students regularly wear them to class, so some students were all too prepared for a day designated to doing just that. Other bed-related items such as stuffed animals were also brought to class, and a rare few could even be seen carrying pillows and blankets. Dressed in their bedtime attire, students wore outfits that represented the one thing they lacked during finals week. 

The activities of Wellness Week came to a close with students watching the holiday movie “Elf,” starring UHS alumnus Will Ferrell, at lunch in the Library on Friday. 

“My friends and I did watch “Elf” in the Library the Friday before finals week,” senior Jolie Roche said. “I enjoyed taking a break from studying and getting into the holiday spirit.” 

Overall, Wellness Week was a great event for students to let off steam and have some time to relax before having to take finals.