Students commonly complain about their stress levels as the school year starts. Having to balance extracurricular activities, school work, and friend life can be challenging for some. However, school-day stress is not just a commonality among students, teachers also find themselves caught up in all the work.

Introduced at the start of the school year, principal Stacy Whaling and teacher Cynthia Kays decided to find a solution to this familiar problem to all: The Rest Nest. The Rest Nest is a location on campus where teachers can go, during their off periods, to relax and unwind.

“The premise behind the whole thing was actually being able to allow teachers to step out of their room for a little bit, go in and relax, refocus, and regenerate,” Kays said. “So when they go back into class, they’re prepared for the next class coming up.”

Teachers around the school pitched in donating items for the relaxation oasis. Couches, a massage chair, decorations, diffusers, coloring books, and puzzles are just some of the few things you can find in the Rest Nest.

“Lots of teachers helped support and donated their items,” Kays said. “This helps give everyone the opportunity to not get so burned out during the day.”

Head cheer coach Kandy Stevens has found a liking to this new addition, favoriting the massage chair.

“I think it helps with morale, it just gives the teachers an opportunity to take a mental health break,” Stevens said. “There’s a lot of different things to do there, I used the massage chair. You can get overstimulated and it is a place to go and decompress.”