By: Bhoomi Jobanputra & Morgan Shen
On October 16, Syosset High School hosted its 19th Health Fair from periods 3-8, featuring multiple health organizations as well as health classes from the school. First celebrated in 2007 to promote healthy habits, the event has grown to become an annual staple in the Syosset community. The Health Fair aims to bring awareness to mental, physical, and nutritional health through fun activities.
The gym was filled with excitement as students explored tables run by different school organizations. Each club designed interactive activities to highlight aspects of mental, physical, and emotional health, aiming to turn health education into something engaging and fun. Health teacher Mr. Matthew Ring talked about how the fair provides “gifts from each of the clubs and organizations.” He also described his Community Health class’s fair table, where donations of cereal and canned goods were collected for an interactive ring-toss activity.
The Bring Change to Mind club focused on mental health awareness, encouraging students to reflect on self-care and the importance of talking openly about their feelings. They set up a Plinko Board at their booth where students could talk about mental health in a gamestyle format, answering questions about getting support and different aspects of mental health. Member Shaina Liss said, “We wanted to make sure the booth was engaging and informative to all the students. It’s important that people feel comfortable talking about their mental health.”
The Virtual Enterprise (VE) classes also played a major role in the fair, proudly presenting their student-run companies. Each team showcased its business and played some fun games to get students interested. One company that was highlighted was VitaFuze. “VitaFuze encourages teenagers and adults to take their vitamins by combining essential vitamins and nutrients into one easy gummy,” said CEO Chloe Tsonis. The company introduced itself at the health fair through an interactive cornhole game. “We gave contestants the chance to win gummies that represent how good our gummies taste,” said Chloe. They also conducted a survey to gather statistics about teens and vitamin intake.
Overall, the Health Fair provided an opportunity for students to learn more about all forms of health and for groups to promote different topics through interactive activities.
