Friday, April 10 was more than just a regular school day at Boothbay Region High School. It was the fifth annual Wellness Day, put together by the Student Health Advisory Board, a group made up of students who care about promoting a healthy way of life. The students meet once a week on Wednesdays and work to bring personal wellness to the school and community.

Led by the faculty team of Anne Barker, family nurse practitioner at the student health center, Kacy Pound, student health center secretary, and Tammy Blackman, Social Services at Boothbay Region Elementary School, the group planned activities and got presenters to come to the school and run sessions.

Just some of the sessions included yoga with Romee May of Yoga Firm Studio, healthy food choices with Mike Glennon, basic weight training with Mr. Dionne, and Tai Chi with John Jenkins. There were also several events held at the YMCA.

Students Brenna Alley and Sinead Miller ran two sessions for a presenter who canceled last minute, and student Nick Powers from Schenck High School in East Millinocket even came to run a session on how to bring a youthful voice to the community to bring about positive change.

“We got so much positive feedback about Nick,” Grant Giles said.

The students gave credit to Kacy Pound for bringing Powers to Wellness Day, as she used to work with him.

“I was so impressed by Brenna and Sinead stepping in at the last minute to run a session,” Barker said.

“The whole day was wonderful, and we had fun doing our presentation,” Nick Simpson said. “I guarantee you before we started at least 70 percent of the crowd had no idea what we do.”

Simpson also said presenter Lillian Sherburne got a lot of compliments afterward for her part in the presentation.

“It was a really good way to show people how wellness doesn't have to be three carrots and a six-mile run,” Sherburne said. “There are other ways, including mental wellness that are just as important.”

“We put a lot of time and effort into making it happen,” Simpson said.

“My favorite part was making healthy smoothies and watching the kids in (Sarah J. Gudroe's) Zumba class,” Kenny Hicks said.

“My favorite part was beating Cameron in two dance-offs in a row,” Giles said.

The students are putting together a questionnaire for students to find out what their most favorite/least favorite events were, so they can continue to make Wellness Day even better. Their next project is a petition to making local beaches such as Hendricks Head and Barrett Park substance-free zones (especially cigarette smoke). Once they have signatures they will be presenting their petition and request to local boards of selectmen. They are also planning to present their idea to the school board so they are aware of the project.