1 week Ago By Jen Garofalo
Cheers: Hoping to improve academic success and reduce chronic absences, a high school in Mansfield, Ohio, is piloting a new curriculum to teach teens how to get a good night’s sleep. “It might sound odd to say that kids in high school have to learn the skills to sleep,” Mansfield health teacher Tony Davis told the Associated Press. “But you’d be shocked how many just don’t know how to sleep.
” The class, “Sleep to Be a Better You,” appears to be having an impact, as the absence rate has dropped from 44% in 2021 to a current 32% – still high, but a start. Studies have shown that teens are overworked, overstressed and more sleep-deprived than ever, and that could be linked to mental health and behavioral issues. Adolescents need eight to 10 hours of sleep, but nearly 80% get less, with most averaging six hours, according to the U.
S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teens in the class were asked to log their nighttime sleep habits, and 50% revealed falling asleep while holding cellphones.
By making some changes to bedtime routines – including putting down devices – some class participants are reporting feeling better and more alert during the school day. Cheers: Families in need in the mid-Mon Valley will have another resource for assistance, thanks to the efforts of Jessica Anderson, who is launching a new organization in honor of her late husband, Raven Anderson. Raven’s Hands will hold a kickoff event tomorrow at 6 p.
m. at Resonate, a yoga studio at 1295 Grand Boulevard in Monessen. “Our goal is not to reinvent the wheel or duplicate existing services,” Anderson says.
“Instead, we are committed to connecting individuals and families to the valuable resources available locally. We are also eager to collaborate with other agencies to ensure that we can effectively refer families to the assistance they need.” Anderson, a longtime employee of the Family Center in Monessen, wanted to pay tribute to her husband, who died in 2021.
“I wanted to carry on the work that he did while he was alive. He helped a lot of people, and he wouldn’t take a dime.” Anderson said there is an ongoing need for car seats, strollers, bassinets, nursing pillows, and other essentials for babies, toddlers, and youth.
Information can be found on Raven’s Hands’ Facebook page or by phone at 724-216-7855. Cheers: Cheers to the elite softball hurlers of the area. High school softball has been one of the most successful sports among local teams, producing an array of WPIAL and PIAA champions and this year has another strong crop with some of the top pitchers in the WPIAL who strike out batters at an eye-opening rate.
Brownsville’s Ava Clark recently broke the school record in strikeouts and topped the 450 mark for her career. Carmichaels’ Bailey Barnyak recorded her 500th career strikeout earlier this season, putting her second behind her legendary mother, Nikki (Gasti) Onderko at an amazing 850, in Lady Mikes history. Waynesburg Central’s Gina Tedrow struck out a career-high 19 batters in a 3-1 win over Bentworth Monday, matching Clark’s feat on March 25 in Tennessee as the high mark for 2025 so far.
Once again several area softball teams will be in the running for a WPIAL title, most of them thanks to their hard-throwing girls in the circle..
