On Dec. 23, State High held its annual Winter Mental Health Summit, organizing an assortment of activities for students and staff to enjoy during the first two hours of the school day.

Originally implemented in the 2023-24 school year, these summits are designed to alleviate the students’ educational, physical, and emotional stress with a variety of creative opportunities. 

Among the nearly 30 endeavors that students could participate in, the most popular among the student body included the arts and crafts activities in the E Pod, Just Dance, ping pong, and cornhole in the auxiliary gym, as well as basketball in the main gym. Junior Kyle Fritzsche credited cornhole as his favorite activity of the summit.

“[Cornhole] is a fun game that just lets me kick back and relax while enjoying time with my friends,” Fritzsche said.

Leading up to the long winter break, many students were under increased stress, with large assignments and frequent tests to be completed before the hiatus. 

“[The summit was timely] because there’s a lot of stress in these last couple of weeks before winter break, you know, so it gives students some necessary time to unwind and relax,” sophomore Ben Gracie-Griffin said.

Though these summits have typically been beneficial experiences for the majority of students, some thought their day would be better spent at home. Sophomore Victoria Witmer shared this opinion and noted that classmates felt the same.

“I think that we should just have the day off, I don’t think I know anyone who did any schoolwork during the day anyway,” Witmer said.

Whether it is that they don’t want to start a new topic before break, they think students deserve a day off, or for several other reasons, most teachers have tended to avoid assigning work to students over break, instead giving them fun activities in class on summit days. The absence of any work during the day essentially renders it a school day devoid of educational value, so many have decided that the trip to school is not worth it and stay home.

While more and more begin to take the day off with no real consequence, students have begun to question why school is scheduled on these days at all.

However, school days cannot simply be cut out of the year; in Pennsylvania, school years are required to be at least 180 days. Some recommend that rather than simply skipping the day, students could recognize and appreciate the efforts that faculty and staff have made to make a required school day much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Though students have mixed opinions, it is safe to say that these summits remain cherished by most, and students want them to continue.

Sophomore Patrick Jeanmenne appreciated the summit.

“I think it helps bring people together. Overall, I think it should be something we do regularly every year, and it’s a great way to cap off the school week and get into break,” Jeanmenne said.

Looking ahead, the Spring Mental Health Summit, taking place before spring break, will aim to provide an equally fun and relaxing environment for students to destress.