YO UTH

Dealing with Stress in Year 12

Year twelve. The mere words can send high school students into a fit of depression with thoughts on never-ending assignments, constant study, and, of course, end of year exams in November.

Year 12 can be the most stressful period of a student’s schooling time, however, according to Marni Harding, the Endeavour College Student Counsellor, there are ways to deal with the stress.

Ms Harding believes that monitoring stress levels is the best way to work on reducing them. “I’d really encourage Year 12 students to value their health and wellbeing and monitor that. Sometimes when you get busy with school work, part-time jobs, and sporting and social commitments, you don’t pay a lot of attention to your physical health and your emotional wellbeing,” she said.

She adds that parents and friends of Year 12 students should be able to tell if the student is stressed. “There are a number of physical symptoms that might come up, like people becoming run down, tummy aches, headaches, and also feeling overwhelmed or anxious,” said Ms Harding.

“Parents need to understand that it is a stressful time and there is a lot of pressure on students to achieve a high tertiary entrance score. It’s important that parents encourage young people to seek help either at home, at school, or through other people. We’ve got to be proactive in how we deal with stress,” she said.

With support, honesty, and guidance, there are ways that end-of-school stress can be dealt with, and as a result, students can work to achieve their true potential.

Aimée Thomson - Living Youth Writer

Aimee is a Year 12 student at Endeavour College, Mawson Lakes

Festival of Dance at Mawson Lakes

Glamorous dancers in colourful sequinned costumes twirled around the floor at The Denison Centre in March at the Australian Festival of Dance organised by the Australian Dancing Society of SA. Chairperson of the society, Oryst Tkacz who is a resident of Mawson Lakes, said this was the first time in Australia that a variety program had been held that combined a ballroom dancing competition, social dancing, showcase performances from professional dancers and performances from school students.

“We wanted to appeal to a wide crosssection of people and herald a new enthusiasm for dance sport and this event has been very successful,” he said pointing to a capacity crowd in the hall.

Oryst and his wife Janet have been dance partners for 19 years and have danced competitively in many parts of the world. They moved to Mawson Lakes 9 months ago and were out walking their dog when they came upon The Denison Centre. As they peered in through the windows, their thoughts turned to a colourful community dance event.

“The Festival of Dance has been so successful that it was beyond our expectations, and we would like to stage another dance event in Mawson Lakes later in the year,” said Oryst.

Why Pay Salon Prices

Diamond April

April’s birthstone is remarkably simple in composition, yet stunning in its unique ability to reflect and refract light into vivid flashes of brilliant color. The ancient Hindus called the Diamond “Vajra,” meaning lightening, both because of the sparks of light thrown off by this gem as well as its invincible strength.

The Diamond is harder than any other substance on earth.

Formed deep within the earth where there is intense heat and pressure, Diamonds are simply crystallized carbon. Volcanic activity of centuries ago brought these gemstones to the earth’s surface, where they are found either within volcanic rock formations or washed out into rivers. India is thought to be the first river-bed source of Diamond mining, but today these gemstones are found primarily in Australia, the Soviet Union, and Africa.

A gift of a Diamond is symbolic of everlasting love. There is no more convincing a promise of an enduring relationship than the brilliant gemstone that has endured in people’s hearts throughout the ages.

Info from: http://www.galleries.com/February_Birthstone

Garage sales in ML

Every weekend in Mawson Lakes there’s a garage sale, or two or three . . .

Maria Jenkins (pictured) who has run several, said garage sales don’t make much money but they are a great way to clean out the house. “To us it’s disused junk, but to other people it’s treasure.”

In Maria’s experience the big items go first and the most popular items are kitchen ware and electrical items, “as long as you can demonstrate they are in working order.”

Different garage sales have different themes. There are children-growing-up sales, surplus stock from businesses such as a cosmetics sale I came upon with boxes and boxes of cheap makeup, plant and pot sales and moving house sales.

For Christie Hill, children’s things sell well. “We live in a small house and as my daughter grows we clear out one age to make room for the next.”

Maria says her tips for a successful garage sale are to be well organised, put things into categories and lay items out in a neat and tidy way. She makes sure the goods are clean and tested so that everything works. “People like to know prices so put a label on everything. Have lots of change in a bag around your waist. Be prepared to sell at a cheap price and to negotiate, because people come to a garage sale for a cheap bargain.”

“The weather plays a major role in the success of a garage sale,” said Maria.“People don’t come out in the rain or on very hot days.”

To attract a crowd get up early and put signs around the district, (remember to remove them afterwards) and don’t forget to put a free announcement in the community magazine.

On one point all garage sale holders agree – it’s one of the best ways to meet the neighbours. Ed.