Don’t Forget to Laugh – From Our Health & Wellness Team

Wellness Wednesday LogoThe new school year is upon us and having a sense of humor is often key to making it through any challenging times you may encounter. In fact, a good sense of humor can be one of the most useful tools in our tool box. Every chuckle brings with it health benefits.

Some of the health benefits include:

  • Physical benefits of laughter result in a boost to your immunity; laughter lowers stress hormones, decreases pain, relaxes the muscles, and prevents heart disease
  • Mental health benefits include adding joy and zest for life; laughter eases anxiety
  • and tension, relieves stress, improves mood, and strengthens resilience
  • Social benefits include strengthening relationships; laughter attracts us to others, enhances teamwork, helps diffuse conflict, and promotes group bonding.

Of course, we all have different things we find funny and we all have different styles of humor. Maybe you’re not a stand-up comedian, but anyone can learn a couple of jokes to share as a way of connecting or lightening the mood.

Spend time watching or reading something that tickles your funny bone, or share a crazy or embarrassing story with your friends or co-workers (this is a fast track to bonding because we all have a silly story or two).

Just like any skill, we need to be intentional in our practice. So, your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to find the funny. It’s there waiting to make you laugh!

Thankful for Employees Working Hard to Keep Schools and District Buildings Cool

Picture of HVAC crewDedicated crews are working hard, sometimes around the clock, to keep our schools and buildings cool during this unprecedented heatwave. All of JSD’s 68 schools have air conditioning along with administrative offices and they provide relief from the heat.

A big thank you to custodians, maintenance and HVAC crews for giving it their all to make sure our systems are operating and any issues are addressed quickly to keep students, teachers, and staff comfortable.

Herriman High School Embraces Growing Number of Refugee Students from Around the World

Picture of flagsThey are students coming from all over the world, Venezuela, Columbia, and Afghanistan to name a few. Herriman High School is seeing a growing number of refugees enrolling with significant language barriers.

To make sure the students feel welcome and at home at Herriman High, the FBLA club embarked on a project to create a “Bienvenido a Herriman” package, translating registration, club, sports, and “must have” school information into Spanish. In addition to the packets, the students secured a sponsorship from the Gates Foundation and Holiday Oil to create a permanent display of flags that represent the many cultural backgrounds of the student body.

The Hall of Flags, including 32 flags representing the home countries of students in the “Mustang Nation,” were revealed during a homecoming assembly on Tuesday.

Principal Todd Quarnberg also addressed the student body talking about the importance of embracing and taking care of everyone coming to the “Mustang Nation.”

Students Surprised with Gift of Brand New Shoes from Utah Jazz & Zions Bank

Students at Columbia Elementary Receiving Shoes It was all smiles for some students at Columbia Elementary School this week. That’s because members of the Utah Jazz organization and Zions Bank stopped by with quite the surprise. They delivered 200 pairs of brand new shoes and backpacks filled with school supplies for students. We are grateful for the kindness and generosity of community partners who take the time to care. Thank you, Utah Jazz and Zions Bank!

Supercast Episode 155: Students Who Love Learning Another Language

Fox Hollow students on stageIt is a classroom where you will find students fully engaged, speaking another language and loving every minute of it.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Fox Hollow Elementary School where some sixth-grade students share their experience in a French Dual Language Immersion class. They speak to Superintendent Godfrey who is fluent in French and deliver a lively performance using the language they have truly grown to love.