Life is Like a Box of Chocolates….

…..You never know what you are going to get!

Today started with our first trip to Little Wound High School for health promotion at 0900.  Topic of the day was STD and pregnancy prevention, along with 300 condoms to distribute along with other resources.

The school nurse’s office was hopping upon our arrival with a continuous influx of sick kiddos requiring attention for cold symptoms, bumps and bruises, red eyes, etc.  After reaching a lull in the flow, the school nurse, Lindsee Harris, welcomed us and let us know that she was waiting to hear from the principal where we would be placed for student access.  We waited patiently and got the go ahead to take our traveling STD education to the alternative classroom.  The teacher for this class, AJ, kindly explained to us that this class format (which is mostly online) allows students to continue to attend school when the demands of the regular school hours and curriculum cannot be met.  For example, teen parents are one of the common attendees of this class. The high school has a dropout rate of between 45-55% so this alternative is a good option for keeping kids in school.   We were thrilled to have this audience for teaching and spent about an hour with them.  Britin and Ashley did a great job of teaching about STD’s and pregnancy prevention.  I, unfortunately, completely underestimated the number of condoms to bring–we handed out the majority of our supply to this group (nearly 300!).  The students in this class were full of great questions and participated enthusiastically.  We also were able to spend some time talking about nursing as a profession and encouraging them to follow their dreams.  This health promotion session went so well that AJ scheduled us to come back into the classroom to present our other topics on each day for the rest of the week.  If this was a box of chocolate, then I would say that I got the caramel nut piece, which is, in my opinion, the best!

After this session, we took a lunch break and visited the burrito stand in Kyle, which I had no idea existed!  What a find!  We sat outside in the beautiful weather and enjoyed a delicious Indian taco.  Pretty much a perfect day…

Upon return to the school, we sat up in the foyer next to the office and the gym.  The school nurse sent an email out to let teachers know that we were available for STD education.  We also met several more of the school administration, including the principal and one of the counselors.  We have been completely overwhelmed with all of the kindness and appreciation for our presence from both students and staff.  I am still in shock that this is going so well.  The kids here are great.  Our time in the foyer allowed for a steady stream of students–about 35 total–to receive individual teaching and time for open questions.  Britin and Ashley did an outstanding job and were very surprised by the keen questions that they got from students.   We also met a Teach for America teacher who graduated from IU Bloomington in 2015–great to meet a new friend and fellow Hoosier!

We ventured into the Badlands to show Ashley Red Shirt Table–the clouds and light at this time of the day was nothing short of spectacular.  Pictures really don’t do the beauty justice.  So excited to be here and to see what the rest of the week holds.