By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Imagine someone was constantly whispering negative comments in your ear. “Don’t trust them.” “Is he looking at you?” “Why are you talking him?”

A group of Mental Health First Aid students experienced what this might felt like recently. One person whispered in their ear while they tried to carry on a conversation with a second person. All the students reported it was difficult to concentrate on the conversation, and it was difficult to respond to the person they were speaking with.

Hearing voices can be a symptom of psychosis — one of the topics discussed in Mental Health First Aid, which is offered by High Plains Mental Health.

Just the word “psychotic” is scary to most people. They don’t understand it. They think it means the person is going to be violent, and it is has become synonymous with “crazy.”

However, those who suffer from psychosis are people who deserve compassion, MHFA trainers said. Despite stereotypes, people who suffer psychosis with proper treatment can be good friends, neighbors and employees.

“As a teenager I did watch the original ‘Halloween’ movies, and I did remember Michael Myers,” said Kaley Conor, MHFA trainer. “He is running around and he is killing everybody. Who is chasing after him? It’s a psychiatrist. Because he is ‘crazy.’ He is ‘psycho.’ It paints this picture that people who are experiencing psychosis are violent. They are serial killers. They are people you need to be really terrified of, and we know that is not true …

“I think stigma is especially prevalent with psychosis and with disorders in which psychosis would occur.”

According to the Mental Health First Aid curriculum, psychosis is a general term, which is used to describe a mental health issue in which the person has lost some contact with reality. It can disrupt thinking, emotions and behavior and as a result impact relationships and work and make self-care difficult.

RELATED: Mental Health First Aid trains public to help those suffering from depression

Conner noted just because a person is experiencing psychosis doesn’t mean they are completely gone or completely out of touch with reality.

“We don’t ever want to speak about someone with psychosis as if they are not in the room, as if they don’t have ears on their head, or as if they don’t understand you,” she said.

Disorders in which psychosis is present are less common than other mental illnesses. They can include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, schizoaffective disorder, drug-induced psychosis and delirium. For example, bipolar disorder affects 2.8 percent of Americans, while schizophrenia affects just 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent of Americans.

Most people who develop schizophrenia do so between the ages of 16 and 30. The illness can develop quickly over weeks or take months or years. People who are in the early stages of psychosis can go undiagnosed and untreated for a year or more.

“That is a long time to wait,” Conner said. “If you are seeing things that are not there or hearing voices that aren’t really speaking to you, a year seems a really long time to wait to ask for help.”

People suffering from psychosis might be afraid to tell someone about their delusions for fear of hospitalization or that they may be laughed at, she said.

Trainer Amy Bird, said, “Even though I believe they are so real, I know if I call [someone] and tell her I think aliens are coming into my house, she is going to be ‘Wow!’so I am not very likely to reach out. I also might be really scared to reach out to somebody.”

A person can suffer psychotic episode as a symptom of their mental illness, but that does not mean that they will be constantly psychotic, Conner said.

The symptoms of psychosis could differ depending on the type of disorder from which the person is suffering. Schizophrenia is not split personality. It is an illness in which thoughts and perceptions become disordered, according to the MHFA curriculum.

Major symptoms of schizophrenia include:

• Delusions: False beliefs of persecution, guilt, having a special mission or being under outside control. Although a person’s belief’s may seem very bizarre to us, they are very real to person experiencing the psychosis, according MHFA.
• Hallucinations: Most commonly hearing voices, but can include seeing, feeling tasting or smelling things. Conner gave the example of a person feeling bugs crawling on him or her.
• Thinking difficulties: Problems concentrating, with memory, ability to plan and communicate.
• Loss of motivation
• Blunted emotions: The person may be oblivious to the things happening around them and may not react appropriately
• Social withdrawal

Conner tried to further explain blunted emotions, “Their face might be completely slack. They are terrified. They’re shaking. They’re trembling. They are very scared of things only they can see, but it is like there is nobody home. There is absolutely no emotion displayed on their face.”

Because senses can be heightened during a psychotic episode, a person might be constantly wearing headphones or sunglasses, Conner said. Someone who is hearing voices may have difficulty responding to questions and directions, she said.

People who suffer from bipolar disorder can suffer from severe depression, periods of mania and then have extended periods of normal mood in between, according MHFA.

A person who is experiencing mania, which is the upper swing of the bipolar mood, can have symptoms including:

• Increased energy and overactivity
• Elevated mood
• A need for less sleep: A person may go for days without sleeping
• Irritability
• Rapid thinking or speech: The person may keep changing topics and may be hard to follow
• Lack of inhibitions: The person may disregard risk, spending excessively, being very sexually active, excess drinking or drug use
• Grandiose delusions: Inflated self-esteem, such as a belief that the person is superhuman, especially talented or intelligent, or an important religious figure.
• Lack of insight: Person may not realize they are ill

“If someone is in a manic state, they might decide, ‘I am going to paint my house.’ They might start painting their house and then they are remodeling their kitchen,” Conner said. “All at the same time. Then they get bored with remodeling their kitchen, and they are organizing their bedroom. They have all these different projects going a the same time, and then they crash and nothing was actually accomplished.

“It was just a lot of hyperactive energy moving from thing to thing to thing.”

They might have grandiose ideas such as they might believe they are a secret agent on a top secret mission.

“You might have really inflated beliefs or ideas about yourself,” she said.

“These signs and symptoms might not seem very alarming on their own,” Conner said, “but when you start stacking them up, you can see how it might be more of a problem.”

Early intervention and treatment of disorders that include psychosis can be important in long-term functioning and recovery. Delayed treatment may result in increased risk of suicide and depression, can delay maturation, hurt relationships, disrupt employment, increase the instance of alcohol and drug abuse, and increase the chance the person may have problems with law enforcement.

Although people who suffer from psychosis might encounter law enforcement because of disruptive behavior, it is a myth that people mental illness are more prone to violence. Less than 4 percent violent crimes in the U.S. are attributed to people who have mental illness.

The course offers the acronym ALGEE to help first aiders remember the steps in aiding in a mental health crisis.

• Access risk of suicide or harm.
• Listen non-judgmentally
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

Risk of suicide is high among people who suffer from disorders that include psychosis. About one-third of people who have schizophrenia will attempt suicide, and one in 10 will complete suicide. People who have bipolar have a lifetime risk of suicide that is 15 times higher than the general population. It is estimated that 25 percent of all people who kill themselves have bipolar disorder.

If you believe someone is an immediate threat to you or others or is acting out violently, call 911.

Other helping strategies include:

• When you approach someone, do so non-judgmentally.
• Chose a private time and place free from distractions. Stay calm and portray confidence. Be aware of body language.
• State the specific behaviors that concerns you without blame.
• Be sensitive to the way the person is behaving.
• Let the person set the pace and style of the interaction. Speak quietly and in short sentences. Repeat things when necessary.
• Don’t touch the person without permission.
• Allow them the person to talk about their experiences and beliefs, but don’t force it.
• Comply with reasonable requests
• Offer help at the moment or when they are ready.
• Offer practical help during crisis and after? Send get well cards, offer to make dinner, offer to help them do grocery shopping or laundry. Think about what you would do for someone who has been the hospital for a physical illness.

Don’t take delusional comments personally, raise your voice, use sarcasm, dismiss delusions or hallucinations, laugh at symptoms or inflame the person’s paranoia or threaten. Don’t restrict movement, which may agitate the person.

Instead of telling someone to stop a behavior, try asking them to do another behavior. Instead of telling a person to stop pacing, you might ask them to sit down, Bird said. If you do the same, this may also help.

“Don’t whisper,” Bird said. “People who are paranoid are scared. I may go over and say something to Kaley that has nothing to do with that person whatsoever, but if they’re scared and on alert, they are going to think they are conspiring and they are going to do something.”

A person who is experiencing psychosis may not have insight they are unwell. Unless a person meets the criteria for involuntary committal, they can’t be forced into treatment, the MHFA curriculum said. “If the they are not at risk of harming themselves or others, be patient, as people experiencing psychosis may need time to develop insight regarding their illness.”

High Plains has a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached at 1-800-432-0333. The local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) group meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Hadley Center. The group also offers support for family members of those who suffer from mental illness. For more information contact Ann Leiker, coordinator, at 785-259-6859 or email her at [email protected].

Other resources:

• Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
• Schizophrenia.com
• National Institute of Mental Health
• Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (They have a wellness tracker in the Apple App Store.)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
•  7 Cups of Tea

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Your hands are sweaty. Your heart is pounding. You feel like you can’t breathe. All your senses seem like they are on overload. Everything is too bright, too loud and even your clothes feel like sandpaper on your skin.

You may think you are having a heart attack, but these are also symptoms of an anxiety attack. One in five Americans will suffer an anxiety attack in their lives. Some might only have one instance and never experience an attack again. However, about 3 percent of Americans suffer from reoccurring anxiety attacks, which is also known as panic disorder. The broader category of anxiety disorders affects 18 percent of U.S. adults and may coexist with other mental illnesses.

Mental Health First Aid, which is course regularly offered by High Plains Mental Health, offers people steps to aid a person in a mental health crisis, including an anxiety attack or an anxiety disorder.

“We all get anxious about some things,” Amy Bird, MHFA trainer, said. “Anxiety serves a purpose. It makes us do things. If I’m not anxious about getting my documentation done, then I would just sit back and whatever happens. But if I know my supervisor is watching that list, I better do that. Sometimes it can become overwhelming and inhibits us …”

Bird gave the example of hearing a loud bang. We might jump, our heart might start to pound. A person may step in say, “Sorry, I was moving a file cabinet and I dropped it,” but it can take up to an hour for us to return to normal after an extreme state of anxiety.

Panic attacks occur when our bodies release fight or flight chemicals. These physical responses are needed if we are running for our lives or fighting off a bear, but are no so helpful if you are sitting talking with a friend over lunch.

In addition to the scenario listed above, other symptoms of an anxiety attack can include:

• Trembling and shaking
• Abdominal distress or nausea
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or feeling faint
• Feelings of unreality or of being detached
• Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
• Fear of dying
• Numbness or tingling
• Chills or hot flashes

Anxiety and anxiety disorders can be very physical.

“How many kids are going to come to you on the first day of school and say, ‘I’m anxious’?” Bird said. “They are going to say ‘I have a stomach ache or a headache,’ and they probably do.”

The median age for the onset of panic disorder is 24, but the median onset for specific phobias is 7 and the median age for all anxiety disorders is 11.

How you can help

An anxiety attack can mimic symptoms of a heart attack or other serious medical emergency. If a person presents with symptoms, and you are uncertain they are having an anxiety attack, it is best to call 911. Some people may wear a medic alert bracelet indicating panic disorder, so look for that.

Anxiety attacks do not necessary have a precipitating event, but can come “out of the blue.”

The course offers the acronym ALGEE to help first aiders remember the steps in aiding in a mental health crisis.

• Assess risk of suicide or harm.
• Listen non-judgmentally
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

If you believe the person is having an anxiety attack, try to be calm and  reassuring. Ask the person if they know what is happening and if you can help. Speak slowly and clearly and in short sentences. Because of the person’s state, they may be slow in answering or not be able to answer at all.

“Even if they know that is what it is, with all that adrenaline going through your body that is making all those physical things happen, it makes you scared because that is what tells you flight, fight or freeze,” Bird said.

Try to be patient with the person and acknowledge their fear. An anxiety attack is not life threatening, but it may seem like it to the person having one. Try, ‘I can see how scared you are.’ Reassure the person that he or she is safe and the symptoms will pass.

“When you are panicked you can’t make a decision,” Bird said. “There are lots and lots of thoughts going through your head. ‘I’m dying. I can’t breathe. All these people are watching me. What is going to happen? I don’t know what to do.’ Sometimes the best way to help is say, ‘I’m going to tell you what to do.’ ”

Ask the person what you can do to help. Byrd noted some people feel more threatened when people try to surround them or touch them during an anxiety attack. Others may feel comforted if you hold their hand.

Although anxiety attacks usually peak within 10 minutes, it could take up to an hour for someone who has had an anxiety attack to come back to feeling normal. Reminding a person the attack should peak in 10 minutes might not be helpful. The person might not have a good concept of time or could become obsessive over the duration of the attack.

Avoid expressing your own negative response to the anxiety attack. Saying things like “Calm down” or “Get over it” are not helpful. Also don’t have the person breathe into a paper bag. This is a myth.

Bird suggested first aiders have the person having the attack look at you. Breathe in for three counts and exhale for three counts.

Risk factors

Anxiety disorders also includes phobias, social anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and agoraphobia. Anyone can suffer from an anxiety disorder, but there are some risk factors, which include:

• Having a more sensitive nature and a tendency to see the world as threatening
• Having a history of anxiety as a child
• Being female
• Alcohol abuse
• Having a traumatic experience
• Difficult childhood (physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect)
• Family background of poverty
• Family history of anxiety problems
• Family history of separation or divorce
• Some medical conditions
• Side effects of some prescription medication
• Use of alcohol or drugs
• Withdrawal from alcohol or drugs

Some anxiety attacks or flashbacks in the case of PTSD have triggers. Just because something might be benign to you, it may cause great distress to a person who has PTSD or a phobia. People who have PTSD can be triggered by a sound or a smell. Veterans may be triggered by loud sounds or fireworks.

The most common phobias are spiders, bugs, mice, snakes and heights. The most common causes of PTSD include war, accidents, assaults or witnessing a significant event, which can include a mass shooting, terrorist attacks or severe weather events, such as a hurricanes, tsunamis or tornadoes.

Resources

If a person has persistent issues with anxiety or anxiety attacks that are affecting their daily lives or functioning in their job, you can suggest the person seek professional help. If a person who has experienced a traumatic event still can’t stop thinking about the event, is upset and fearful, feeling jumpy, and has suffering relationships four or more weeks after the event, professional help is advised.

Talk therapy and/or medication may be used.

High Plains also has a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached at 1-800-432-0333.

The local National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) support group meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Hadley Center. For more information, contact Ann Leiker, coordinator at 785-259-6859 or email her at [email protected].

Other helpful links

• Anxiety and Depression Association of America
• E-couch
• Freedom from Fear
• National Institutes of Mental Health
• Obesessive-Compulsive Foundation
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
•  7 Cups of Tea

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

If someone fell and gashed their leg, a stranger would likely jump to their aid. They would apply pressure to stop the bleeding and call 911.

Training in first aid and CPR is common for many Americans — even required by some professions and volunteer organizations.

How many of us would know what to do if someone was suicidal? How many of us even know the signs and symptoms of depression? How many of us would simply walk away too afraid to get involved?

High Plains Mental Health offers a day-long course in Mental Health First Aid. The program originated in Australia and now is offered across the U.S., including 10 years through High Plains for the adult program and six years for the youth program. Since the program started, HPMH has certified 2,387 northwest Kansas residents (from 20 counties) in Mental Health First Aid.

The course covers the most common mental illness, including depression, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders and substance use disorders as well as ways every-day people can help people suffering from mental illness.

High Plains last year received a $20,550 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to expand its Mental Health First Aid program and has had record participation this year. It has placed an emphasis this year on training first responders, said Kaley Conner, HPMH marketing coordinator and MHFA trainer. High Plains also received a $25,000 grant from the Schmidt Foundation this year to further public education and outreach efforts geared toward the agribusiness community. A small portion of that funding will also go toward MHFA.

Between 2014 and 2017, the suicide rate in the 20 northwest counties served by High Plains increased by 64 percent. In addition, a Centers for Disease Control study released in July 2016 reported farmers as a group had the highest suicide rate of any occupation in the U.S.

RELATED STORY: High Plains Mental Health announces Schmidt Foundation grant to aid outreach to farmers

RELATED STORY: High Plains Mental Health reaches out to farmers as rural suicide rates soar

Mental illness affects about one and five Americans. It is more prevalent than cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease. Many people delay seeking help because of lack of education about mental illness or the stigma surrounding it. Support services may be hard to access, especially in rural communities, and the person suffering the illness might not have good insight into to their illness, according to the MHFA curriculum.

Conner talked about why the MHFA classes are important.

“First and foremost, this class helps raise awareness in our communities, as well as acceptance and empathy,” Conner said. “It is important for our communities to talk about mental health and to understand mental illness is a real illness that has the potential to be very impactful.

“It is also important to give community members practical, easy to remember tools for how they can approach and offer assistance to someone who might be struggling. When someone has a possible mental health problem, it is often going to be family members, friends, colleagues and others in the community who might first notice. For this reason, it is important for community members to be educated about possible warning signs and symptoms, and to know how to respond effectively.”

The first section in the MHFA curriculum discusses depression and goes on to discuss suicide prevention.

Although women present more often for treatment for depression, statistically men are more likely to complete suicide because they tend to use more lethal means, including guns and hanging. Men are four times more likely to complete suicide than women. Although this is a trend, it is not true in all cases.

Depression, which is believed to be caused by the changes in the natural brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, can have many causes, according to the HMFA curriculum.

Some of the risk factors include:

• Stressful or traumatic events
• A difficult childhood
• Ongoing stress and anxiety
• Long-term poverty
• Bullying
• Victim of a crime
• Long-term physical illness
• Death of a partner
• Substance abuse

Depression can also be the result of another medical condition, childbirth (AKA postpartum depression), side effect of medication, the stress of having another mental illness, withdrawal from drugs or alcohol premenstrual changes, lack of exposure to light in the winter (AKA seasonal affective disorder), caring for a person with a long-term disability.

You may be more prone to have depression if you have a family member who has had depression or you have had a previous episode of depression.

Additional risk factors for suicide, include a previous suicide attempt, a friend or loved one who has completed suicide, and an organized plan.

If you believe a person is suffering from mental illness, the trainers urged first aiders to talk to person using “I” statements, as opposed to “you” statements that may seem judgmental. For example, “I am concerned about you.”

There is a difference between empathy and sympathy. Avoid saying, “I understand exactly how you feel.” You don’t. Instead you might say, “I can imagine how you might be feeling.” Empathy, trying to put yourself in another’s shoes, is different than sympathy, feeling sorry for someone.

Other helpful examples included:

• How long have you been feeling this way?
• Have you spoken to anyone about this before?
• Is something bothering you?
• You haven’t been joining us lately at coffee.
• If the feelings that you are describing have been present for a long time, I think it’s important that you see your family physician.

Your goal as a mental health first aider is not to treat the person who is suffering from the mental health crisis, just as a physical first aider you are not going to set a person’s broken leg. You can offer to get the person to the professional help they need.

“You may not know how to handle the situation,” Conner said, “but you can move them on to someone who does.”

The course offers the acronym ALGEE to help first aiders remember the steps in aiding in a mental health crisis.

• Access risk of suicide or harm.
• Listen non-judgmentally
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

When accessing risk of suicide, there are signs to look for:

• Saying goodbye
• Giving away items
• Withdrawal
• Saying they are thinking of killing themselves
• Talking about suicide, death or dying on social media
• Seeking means to kills themselves (buying a gun, seeking pills)
• Expressing hopelessness
• Engaging in reckless behavior
• Increased alcohol or drug use
• Dramatic mood change
• Anxiety or agitation, unable to sleep or sleeping all of the time
• Saying they feel trapped

According to the MHFA trainers, asking a person if her or she is considering suicide will not cause the person to kill him or herself or “put the idea in their head.” Talking about their thoughts and feelings may give them a release.

Amy Bird, MHFA trainer, said talking about death or suicide should not be thought of as an attention-seeking behavior. It should be thought of as attention-needing. The person may feel hopeless and worthless, and they need your help.

If you believe a loved one or you may be at risk of suicide, it is wise to put as much distance between thought and action as possible, the trainers said. For instance, move guns out of the house, separate guns from ammo, remove pills from the house.

If you have an immediate concern about a person’s safety, speak to them calmly and sincerely. Appearing confident can be reassuring. Ask:

• Are you having thoughts of suicide?
• Are you thinking of harming yourself?
• Have you decided how you are going to kill yourself?
• Have you decided when you are going to kill yourself?
• Have you collected the things you need to carry out your plan?

If you have a serious concern about a person’s safety, do not put yourself in danger. If the person has a weapon or is acting aggressively, call 911.

High Plains has a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached at 1-800-432-0333. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The national suicide crisis text line can be reached at 741741.

The annual Hays Area Out of the Darkness Walk, which seeks to bring light to the issue of suicide is Saturday at Municipal Park. Registration will start at 1 p.m. in Municipal Park and the walk will start at 2 p.m. If you are interested in walking, volunteering or donating, go to www.asfp.org/Hays.

When dealing with a mental health crisis, include the person in making a safety plan. Do not leave a person who is actively suicidal alone. However, you must recognize you can’t be with a person at every moment. You can help them with the second E in ALGEE by asking them what has been helpful in the past.

Do not use guilt to try to dissuade the person from hurting his or herself. Don’t make comments such as “You will go to hell” or “You are going to ruin other people’s lives.” Also don’t agree to keep the person’s suicide plan a secret.

Help can be found through doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, peer specialists and other mental health workers. Some people suffering depression may be prescribed medication. They may also engage in talk therapy, support groups or other professional support. Sadly, only about half of the people with depression in a given year receive treatment.

Other self-help strategies can include:

• Exercise
• Relaxation and meditation
• Peer support groups, such as National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The local NAMI group meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Hadley Center. For more information contact Ann Leiker, coordinator at 785-259-6859 or email her at [email protected].
• Light therapy
• Family, friends, faith and social networks

Online resources:

• American Association of Suicidology
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• National Council of Mental Health
•  7 Cups of Tea
• Postpartum Support International

Illustration by canstockphoto.com

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Hays Middle School is out of room, Principal Tom Albers told the Hays school board during a tour Monday night.

HMS enrollment is at 686 students, the largest being the sixth-grade class of 248.

The gradually increasing enrollment has meant an already cramped lunch room is faced with even bigger challenges, the school is out of classroom space, has teachers on carts and class sizes are getting even larger.

“Every sixth-grade class is big,” Albers said. “We are talking 24 to 30 kids and some even bigger. We’re tight.”

Albers said he would love to have more electives for the students, but if the district added staff, he said more teachers are need for core courses to reduce class sizes. HMS is offering half-year English classes for seventh- and eight-graders, and they would like to make those full-year classes.

However, if HMS added staff, there is the question of where they would put the teachers. On carts, move in trailers? The options are limited.

The last renovations to the HMS were finished in 2014, which included HMS’ tornado shelter.

“People ask, ‘You put these new buildings in. How can you be short? How can you not have room?’ ” Albers said. “One of the reasons is our need for special education.”

Special education is taking up three rooms at HMS now, when at one time it took up just one. More paras and aides are required, the number of students in the program has increased and newer teaching methods require more space. One of the rooms that is being used as a special-ed classroom used to be the teachers’ lounge.

Albers is in his second year in his position at the middle school. He said several times during the tour he knew there were space issues at HMS, but until he actually saw it, he didn’t really understand how much HMS was doing in its existing spaces.

One of these areas is the cafeteria, which was not designed to handle as many students as it does today.

The cafeteria gets very noisy because of the number of students crammed into such a small space. HMS serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Students have 20-minute lunch periods, but really don’t have that long to eat once they get through the line, are seated, and must clean up and line up.

“It’s definitely complicated. It is like ant farm — kids everywhere,” said Shauna Zweifel, HMS assistant principal.

Albers said, “It does work, but it doesn’t work well.”

HMS is also serving 150 to 200 students breakfast.

One plan school officials have considered is expanding the lunchroom into an old boiler room adjacent to the existing cafeteria. It is currently being used for storage.

Although the gym is nice and is in good repair, it also has to hold a lot of kids.

With two physical education classes and a weights class going on in the upper deck simultaneously, there can be 110 students in the gym per class period.

Albers described three different teachers using intercoms and bullhorns to direct students all at they same time.

“You had this going on. You had this going on. You had that going on. I was like this is crazy. It was crazy that we would put this many kids in the gym at one time, but it is the only option we have,” Albers said.

The HMS track is in disrepair. Albers pointed out a large crack in the asphalt that has been repaired with a tar patch and is a tripping hazard. HMS can’t host meets at the school because of the condition of the track. HMS had 177 kids out last year for track.

The school has changed its drop-off procedures with the installation of a new secure entrance at the front of the school. During school hours, visitors buzz into the school and enter through the office. Students are required to enter in the morning through the west doors and check in through the gym.

Albers said the west door drop-off gives the school better control of the students’ movement through in the morning.

The school is working on plans to improve traffic control in the parking lot during drop off. Within the next month, the school plans to convert the parking lot to one-way traffic. Facilities also plans to paint a white area in the parking lot that will be a designated student drop-off zone.

HMS is still working with insurance to complete repairs to the west side of the school that was damaged during a wind and hail storm in August.