School nurse offer keys to nutrition, exercise and stress relief

November is a stressful month — if you’re a turkey.

That’s what Madigan Teodoru wrote in a story about the issue of stress in Shelter Island School’s Health Literacy Initiative, a program designed to get students involved in making the best choices for their own health.

“Kids like their own control,” School Nurse Mary Kanarvogel said about providing students with tools they need to make the best decisions about their well-being, and encouraging them to write about it.

Madigan’s fictional turkey resolved looming problems by taking refuge under someone’s deck, which turned out to be at the home of a vegetarian. And so the story was titled, “When in doubt, go the veggie route.”

Ms. Kanarvogel and her son Ian Kanarvogel are sharing responsibilities for the program involving students in the elementary and secondary schools.

“We’re going to give you the information — you make your own choice,” Ms. Kanarvogel said she told the participants.

For younger students, an entry into the subject is through animals to which they naturally relate, she said.

Madison Springer wrote about a panda who didn’t do his homework, lied about it and said a pet ate the homework. The panda soon discovered that lying created more stress than telling the truth. It also inspired the panda to learn about scheduling time to ensure homework got done on time.

Ben Waife learned the lessons of proper nutrition eating, displayed in story titled “Pablo’s Problem.” Pablo was a dog who loved fast food, but found his choices were making him stressed and sad. A switch to eating vegetables made him happy and enabled him to lose weight.

From Henry Lowell-Liszanckie came “Kevin’s Misery,” the tale of a child who is allergic to cupcakes. When his classmates were eating the sweet treats, he was left out and felt sad. But he discovered that substituting muffins would work for him.

The program was created by the nonprofit Institute for Healthcare Advancement, which declared October as “Health Literacy Month.” But at Shelter Island School, it’s an ongoing program to help students improve their nutrition and health year round, Ms. Kanarvogel said.

Students at the middle school level are learning to track their sleep patterns, discovering how important sleep is to reducing stress, Ms. Kanarvogel said.

The students in 10th grade are learning CPR, while elementary level students are learning the rudiments of first aid, and the importance of wearing seat belts in what’s called the “teddy bear clinic.” Members of Shelter Island’s Emergency Medical Services have assisted with those lessons.

“We’re always trying to do hands-on skills,” Ms. Kanarvogel said.

Teaching with her son, Ian, has enabled the two to split up the older students by gender for lessons on the birds and bees, she said.

This is her second year teaching the health classes and the first for Ms. Kanarvogel.

“I get a lot from them, too,” she said about her students. “They give so much back.”