Local

Know: The second annual Health and Wellness Day will be taking place on the late start next Monday, Oct. 27.

Inform: With a goal of providing students with tools to deal with stress, the annual Health and Wellness Conference allows students to attend breakout sessions where they can learn how to cook, participate in country line dancing and learn how to meditate. The day will begin with a Dads and Daughters Safe Driving Presentation followed by a normal fourth hour class. After that, students will head over to their first breakout session. Unlike last year, students have the option of participating in two different 49-minute sessions whether it be crossFit and art therapy or Hamilton dance routines and LGBTQ survivor support. Students also have option of taking a 98-minute session over bullet journals, chess or line dancing instead of two 49-minute sessions.

Care: Student mental health is the base for a successful learning experience. Without a mindset free from depression or anxiety, students wouldn’t be able to focus throughout the day in their classes. The stress of balancing classes, extracurricular activities, jobs and having a social life can take a toll on the ability to focus and concentrate. New tools have been put in place to help students within EHS experience a more positive and peaceful learning environment at school.

National

Know: Northern California wildfires grow killing 40 people with half a dozen people still missing, Oct. 15.

Inform: Northern California residents are experiencing the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history, scorching more than 220,000 acres since it started, Oct. 8. The National Fire Protection Association estimates a total of 4,312 structures being destroyed, including more than 3,000 homes and 70 commercial buildings.Reports from the Sheriff’s office of Sonoma County claim that 174 people are still missing as of Oct. 15. California and its surrounding states have had 10,000 firefighters on the job rescuing people, trying to tame the flames and cleaning up the forests and nearby areas. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service say that within the next few days, temperatures should drop, bringing southwest winds and moist air. The chance of rain will also increase to 70 percent by Thursday evening, Oct. 19. While the weather conditions bring hope for an end, the chance of embers igniting new fires still threatens.

Care: While the EHS community did not experience anything close to the amount of lives lost or homes destroyed by the wildfires in California, the EHS community is no stranger to natural disaster, facing two historic floods within less than two years apart. Donating any amount to The American Red Cross will support relief efforts for the wildfires.

International

Know: The U.S. Armed forces conducted a flyover of long range B1 bombers and F-15 jets over the Sea of Japan, Oct. 11

Inform: In response to growing tensions between North Korea and the U.S., the United States flew the Demilitarized Zone, which separates North Korea from South Korea, as a show of force. Ri Su-yong, North Korean foreign minister, called Trump “a mentally deranged person full of megalomania” in a speech at the United Nations, Oct. 14. He said Trump’s verbal attacks make “our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more.” As the continued nuclear tests of the hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean cause earthquakes, the undeniable threat from North Korea still stands.

Care: The U.S. and its ally South Korea never signed a peace treaty with North Korea at the end of the Korean War. Instead the countries signed an armistice in 1953, which served as a temporary measure. In fact, U.S. troops are still stationed at the DMZ all these decades later. A journalist was interviewed about his trip to North Korea during a podcast for The Daily, The New York Times, Oct. 12. He talked about how propaganda was everywhere to be seen: on billboards, in museums and even at the end of a Sea-world-like show, to depict an anticipated war with the U.S. Some of the billboards he saw showed Korean soldiers stomping on the head of a U.S. soldier and missiles striking the U.S. capital. His point was that to Koreans, Americans are their sworn enemy and this war is coming in just a matter of time. The growing tensions between North Korea and the U.S. may be the start to World War III.