EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS HOST HEALTH FAIR APRIL 5 - 8

Students Available to Answer Questions about Their Health-related Topic

April 5, 2004, Middlebury/Southbury—The eighth grade students at Memorial Middle School in Middlebury will be presenting a health fair in the school’s media center on April 5 – 8 from 12:30 until 2:00pm. Each student currently enrolled in Health this semester is researching a health and wellness issue and will share this knowledge to other Memorial Middle School students at the fair.

            The eighth graders selected a health-related topic based on interest, personal connection, curiosity, or simply on a desire to learn more on the issue. Each student, or team of two students, created a poster board display that includes a definition of the topic, graphical data, list of experts and resources, and treatments.

            “Some students chose their health topic because it affected either themselves or someone they love,” said Mrs. Cindy Laverty, health teacher at Memorial Middle School. “A student who suffers from a food allergy told me that she felt it was very important to her to educate her classmates about the seriousness of this allergy.”

            While the health fair is primarily for the sixth and seventh graders, the school staff and public are welcome to attend. Some of the health topics include cystic fibrosis, alternative medicine, eating disorders, underage drinking, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

            “The list that the students could choose from contained many issues that today’s teenagers face. Talking about health-related issues and how to handle them not only educates others, but brings the issue into the open instead of sweeping it under the rug,” said Mrs. Laverty.