Exeter-Milligan Sixth Graders participate in Health Rocks

The Exeter-Milligan sixth grade class held their “Health Rocks” graduation on Friday, May 6^th at 1 p.m. in Milligan.

Principal Laura Kroll spoke first and explained why the district changed from the DARE program to the “Health Rocks” program that is a curriculum from the 4-H Healthy Life series.

“The DARE program we had been using for so many years hadn’t changed and seemed outdated.  We were looking for something new.”

At the same time, in a different conversation Jolene Frook, the coordinator of the Fillmore County Coalition, discussed the program with Superintendent Paul Sheffield.  The dots were connected and the Exeter-Milligan embraced the new program.

The group started by learning about the different body parts and functions and then moved on to learn how smoking affects the parts of their body.  They also learned about how alcohol negatively affects their brain development until the age of 25.

The class did a lot of moving in class.  They did some role playing and they also got to experience the “beer goggles” and what it is like to walk around with two times the legal blood alcohol limit. Frook noted, “They all learned that no one could walk a straight line with the goggles on.”

The class explored peer pressure issues along with social media etiquette.  They also talked about drug usage and the importance of sleep.  The learned the many dangers of binge drinking and the long recovery time that a body needs after binge drinking.

The students made a video on what they learned in the class and played it for their parents.  During the graduation Frook called each of the students to the front and talked about their character strengths.  She noted, “Everybody in this class knows how to make good decisions.”

Above – Jolene Frook stands with sixth grader Madison Luzum during the “Health Rocks” graduation.

Below – Exeter-Milligan sixth graders at the “Health Rocks” graduation front row from the left:  Emma Olsen, Cameran Jansky, Katelyn Babula, Madison Luzum, Chris Kelch, Peyton Pribyl, and Kole Svec.  Back row from the left: Sixth grader teacher Allison Brahm, Briana Capek, Kiah Songster, Jolene Frook, Wesley Ronne, Becca Krupicka, Braden Capek, Alec Schlueter, Casey Underwood, and Ben Bartu.