As the winter weather gets colder, student’s health at Park has continued to decrease. More students have been getting sick from varying illnesses, leaving classrooms close to empty. Students missing so much in-class time leaves it difficult to balance the workload upon their return.
School nurse Tracy Reusse said cases have been on the rise this winter, and students have been out for long periods of time.
“There have been lots of people with nausea this fall; a ton of people with colds, coughs, and congestion,” Reusse said. “There was an influenza case I heard of where a student was out for three days.”
Senior Evelyn Barnett said her classes have decreased in size due to illness and prolonged absences. According to her, having so many people sick makes her more aware of her surroundings.
“I’ve noticed a lot of people being absent this winter, so it leaves our class sizes a lot smaller,” Barnett said. “I’m extra wary of who I’m around and if they’re sick, and I just keep my distance.”
Senior Annika Koch said the stress of school leads students to put their work before their health, and causes them to get sick. She said this then makes it harder for them to catch up once they return.
“School is really stressful. Students are not prioritizing things that make them healthy,” Koch said. “A lot more people have been getting sick just because it’s winter. It’s impacted student’s schooling and (their ability to) catching up with everything they’ve missed.”
Reusse said the best way to prevent the spread of illness at Park is just to stay home when you’re not feeling the best.
“If a kid is sick the day before with a fever or something, don’t come the next day,” Reusse said. “Just stay home so that the rest of the population doesn’t become ill.”
Barnett said staying home is ideal to prevent sickness, but understands that sometimes you can’t miss a class.
“If you’re feeling sick, stay home,” Barnett said. “But at the end of the day, you gotta do what you gotta do. If you have stuff in class you need to go to, go.”
Koch said to stay healthy, students should take precautions to best protect other students and staff.
“Just wash your hands more, and stay home if you’re sick so you don’t get other people sick,” Koch said.
Barnett said part of the reason everyone’s getting sick is due to students pushing themselves too hard for their tests before break.
“Right before break, a lot of people are stressed because they’re taking a lot of tests. Even though they’re not finals, they’re still important,” Barnett said. “People may not eat as well and may be getting sick.”
Reusse said it is important to make sure that students are continuing healthy habits in order to ensure healthiness.
“A lot of it is good habits like sleeping eight hours a night,” Reusse said. “Getting good rest, getting good nutrition, eating breakfast, eating lunch and drinking (from) your water bottle all contribute to a student’s health.”
