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newlenoxpatriot.com SOUND OFF
the New Lenox Patriot | June 1, 2017 | 19
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From NewLenoxPatriot.com as of Monday,
May 30
1. Standout Student: Samantha Mitchell,
Lincoln-Way West, Senior
2. Baseball: Celtics overcome miscues in 4-3
regional semifinal win
3. Girls Soccer: West and East go down to the
wire, ends in PKs
4. Boys Volleyball: Warriors fall in regional
final after defeating JCA in semis
5. 10 Questions with Nick DeGregorio,
Football, Lincoln-Way Central
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New Lenox School District 122 posted this
May 23:
“Mother Nature can’t stop Haines 1st graders!
We celebrated our love of reading with
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keep meeting and exceeding their reading
goals for this year. We are so proud of
them!”
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@LWWestside on May 23
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From The Assistant Editor
Do you need to de-stress?
Amanda Stoll
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com
Who’s to say what
the most stressful
time of the year is?
For many people it can
be the holidays, or maybe it
is when the school year is
nearing its end.
While I enjoy the summer
weather just as much as
everyone else, for me it also
brings a lot of stress.
There’s so many more
outdoor projects I can work
on, but my creative side
often gets the best of me,
causing me to overestimate
what I can get done in a
reasonable amount of time.
It is also the time of year
when I want to get outside
as often as possible, but am
stuck inside much of the day
at my desk. That’s not to say
nfyn
From Page 16
from the blacktop area, there
is not much else for the students
to do.
“The swings are very old
and need to be replaced
anyway,” Mokena Elementary
School Principal Anna
Kirchner said. “We’re spending
a lot of money replacing
the chains for the swings and
things like that. They’re really,
really outdated.”
She said it does not make
I don’t take time to eat my
lunch outside or take a walk
on my afternoon break, but I
often imagine what it would
be like to take my computer
out onto the lawn to work all
day.
Since that’s not reasonable,
I use my weekend time
to be outside as much as
possible. I don’t care if it’s
hiking, kayaking, camping
or rock climbing — if the
weather is nice, I just want
to be outside.
Those weekend trips,
however, can create a lot
of stress for me between
planning meals, reserving
campsites and then trying to
get everything done during
the week so I can take the
weekend off.
Even so, I don’t know
anyone who wants to work
all day, and then go home
and clean the house, do the
laundry, and cook a meal,
but there are a lot of things
that need to get done around
the house — and I don’t
even have children.
All of those to-do list
items and projects I want to
do tend to cause me more
stress than they probably
should in the big scheme
sense to continue replacing
chains on the swings, because
new chains are expensive.
The swings would have
to be taken down before a
new playground could be
installed.
A new playground, which
is to cost $60,000, would
give students more activities
during recess, and Kirchner
said it would be good for
students who might not be
interested in playing a sport
during recess.
After the elementary
school students raised
$20,000 for the American
Heart Association’s Jump
Rope for Heart this year,
Kirchner said she hoped they
could do a similar fundraising
event for a cause that
would benefit the school.
“I think the parents are
happy just to see that the
funds will stay here and go
to something that their student
will be able to use and
access every day,” she said.
Reporting by Amanda Stoll,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
MokenaMessenger.com.
of things, but nonetheless,
I have to remind myself to
take a step back and relax.
Whether that’s going to a
yoga class at my gym or sitting
down at the table with a
coloring book — the reallydetailed-but-surprisinglycalming
kind of coloring
book made for us adults — I
know it’s something I need
to do for my own sanity.
It’s not just something I
do for me, it’s something
I do for the people around
me like my coworkers and
friends, because I know
when I’m too stressed out,
I’m no fun to work with and
no fun to hang out with.
While reading this, if
you’ve thought, “That’s
exactly how I feel,” or “I
don’t even know why she’s
stressed; I have so many
more things stressing me
out than she does,” then you
probably need some destressing
too.
Not sure where to start?
Libraries and park districts
are great places to start
your search for a relaxing
activity, which could be
something different for
everyone.
The library offers numerous
adult craft classes,
book clubs and gentle yoga
programs each month, with
new things being added frequently.
Take a look at the
calendar on their website,
www.newlenoxlibrary.org.
The park district also
offers tons of programs for
all ages, which you can find
out more about at www.
newlenoxparks.org.
If you think you don’t
have time for any of those
things, I would argue that
you should make time. It
isn’t healthy to be go, go,
going all the time, and to
never take any time for
yourself.
So take a break, because
you work hard and deserve
some “me time.” I guarantee
it will make you and
the people around you a lot
happier.
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