With a few weeks until Winter Break and not long until the end of the first semester, many students are left stressed as they work to catch up on any missing assignments, especially those who miss school due to chronic illness.

While most people aren’t affected, a significant portion of students live their daily lives with this extra weight on their shoulders, many going undiagnosed, mentally and physically, and leaving an additional burden on top of the other day-to-day hardships. This makes it easy to fall behind in school, adding stress to the student and the student’s family involved, and possibly leading to an unhealthy cycle of missing more school while falling farther behind.

Although it may seem overwhelming all at once, there are teachers, administration, and staff here at Menchville that are dedicated to being a steady support system as students navigate through all they have going on. Alongside teachers being only an email away, there are various resources offered by Menchville, such as FEV Tutor (through Clever) with 24-hour help services that are tailored to the student, Homebound services as an alternative to being in-school, Virtual Virginia which is offered to all students, and mental health services through guidance to ensure that students don’t feel alone.

The Lion’s Roar is showing support to all of those struggling through spoken and unspoken battles with ways Menchville staff can aid in helping any students in need along with how students can help themselves:

“I help teachers make sure they provide the work for their students. Like, ‘Is the work on Canvas?’ , ‘Are all the resources available?’… I want to make sure students can learn whether it’s in school or in Homebound… Students should seek direct communication with their teachers to ensure they are able to focus on the work they miss while out of the classroom. The classroom teacher will work closely with the student/parent/guardian to support the success of the student.”

– Dr. Mary Hardesty, Assistant Principal – Instruction

Ask for help. Sometimes students need to focus on their health because you cannot put out your best work when you are not well. Be sure to get lots of rest and try not to stress. Keep open communication with your teachers. I think teachers should be very cognizant of health issues. Maybe don’t count every single assignment especially if the student is going through a really rough time. I do not take off late points and will take assignments at any time if a student is going through a health crisis. It is beyond their control.”

– Mrs. Candice Wendt, Physics and Anatomy Teacher

“In the years I’ve been teaching, I’ve accumulated up so much in different resources. When I provide work, I also provide an answer key so that students can automatically see what they may be doing wrong. That’s one way to help. I also provide my cell phone number for students to be able to contact me when they’re at home. That’s a second reason. A third would be that I provide recordings of the lessons for students to able to watch… I’m not sure if I’m helping or hurting, but I hope I’m helping more than hurting.”

– Mr. Brandon Traner, AP Calculus and AP Statistics