High school students across the country deal with an abundance of anxiety and stress in their lives. There are many factors in a high school environment that cause a great deal of stress. COVID-19 has multiplied the amount of anxiety that exists in students’ lives. The lack of access to friends, teachers, and social life has taken a toll on many teenagers. Virtual learning has caused a lack of determination in the minds of many students. In a recent survey from Junior Achievement and Citizen Bank, 57% of teenagers believed that they were concerned about how COVID-19 will affect their life after high school.

At Glen Rock High School, students have been following a hybrid schedule. Some students feel that staring at a screen without any interaction with classmates and teachers has affected their learning. High school senior Aidan Kennedy feels similarly. 

“I find virtual school very difficult,” Kennedy said. “It is very hard to learn and is stunting students from learning.”

Glen Rock High School students Dylan Vila, Malika Sinha, Ryan Baumbach, Connor Cunningham, Casey Bedwell-Coll, and the rest of the mindfulness committee have decided to take action and assist their fellow classmates in getting through these tough times. 

“As student council president, I thought it would be a great idea to create a space for students to get rid of stress during the pandemic”, Cunningham said. 

The Mindfulness Committee has created a Schoology group “Less Stress” that is available for all Glen Rock High School students. The committee’s mission is to make mindfulness a more relevant subject in the school. They have and will continue to give weekly reminders to the entire student body about mental health. This committee sees many potential ways to spread less stress.  

“We believed that mental health was not talked about enough in our school and the less stress page is just the first of many ways we hope to change the culture of mindfulness in our school,” Baumbach said. 

The student administrators have been frequently posting links and positive messages on the page. For example, Dylan Vila recently posted a message saying, “It’s almost Friday! Did you know that stress can cause muscle tightness? Here is a 15-minute calming yoga video to help relieve stress and loosen up your muscles! Have a great day!” 

This and other posts are positive and useful messages for all high school students. The yoga video allows students to clear their minds from a long school week. 

Cunningham has lightened the mood with some humor by posting try not to laugh videos and memes on the page. 

The Less Stress program has been a helpful way for students to take time and focus on their mental health. Thanks to this group of seniors, high school students now have the opportunity to learn how to deal with the stress and anxiety that they face.