With exams around the corner, IB students are beginning to feel pressure within their classes. That’s why Robinson decided to hold a meditation session in the auditorium on Mon. Dec. 4, 2017.

“RIBLI [Robinson High School IB Link, the IB parent group] worked with a mindfulness expert to come in and do some meditation exercises with the IB students,” said Mr. Hoover, the Assistant Principal for Curriculum (IB).

For the past few years, USF has been working with students in AP and IB classes to learn about the stress levels experienced by these students.

“Last year they worked with our freshmen, and one of the things they said was it helps students in advance coursework, like AP or IB, is meditation they said that was one way to relieve stress,” Hoover said. “So RIBLI, our parent group, said: let’s show students how to do this, not just tell them, but show them.”

During the meditation session, those who attended listened to soothing sounds and voices so that they could alleviate stress.

“The lady spoke in different tones and I remember the click of her bell and that had to do with her technique. She had us envision scenarios and how we felt in those different scenarios” Marian Hernandez (’18) said.

Encouraged to enter the session with an open mind, students generally had positive feedback.

“Actually, at first, I didn’t think that it was going to work because most of the time when they’ve tried to do meditation it doesn’t really work and like, we don’t really believe it works, so it doesn’t work,” said Hernandez. “But most of my friends and I went in with an open mind and it actually felt like it worked. At some point, I couldn’t feel or know where I was so it felt really nice. At the end, we were very stress free.”

Overall, the event ran smoothly and both RIBLI and administration are ready to do it again in the future.

“I think it was a success. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but we are probably going to have at least one more session this year and then we’re looking to have more next year and possibly do a club,” Mr. Hoover said.