MONROE — A strand of Launch students at Monroe High School held a Respite Fun Day on April 5 at MHS. The event was three-fold: The students would gain experience working with disabled youth, the youth themselves would get one-on-one time with CNA certified caretakers, and the parents of the children could use their free time however they saw fit.
“These families are very appreciative of it,” said Riley Nicholson, a junior. “Not all of them are going places to shop, but they are staying in town — maybe having their own time at home.”
Nicholson, one of 12 students in the strand, wants to be a labor and delivery nurse when she’s older. Through the Launch program at MHS, the 12 students spent four months splitting time with Blackhawk Technical College to earn their CNA certifications. They all passed the state exam and did their clinicals at Monroe Health Services, said Megan Chapman, also a junior.
“Once we got that, we started planning this out. We knew that we wanted to help someone in the community, and this is something that wasn’t really around — a respite day for people in Green County. We wanted to target that demographic and make a day happen,” Chapman said.
The group split up into committees to plan the event. Some took care of preparation, like figuring out which crafts or activities would work for all ages, while another committee checked up on the legalities of hosting a respite day.
Nicholson said the high school students met some of the younger children beforehand in order for everyone to get a little more familiar and make the day a little smoother.
“I think that helped build trust between us and the kids,” she said.
Chapman said she noticed a “very positive” reaction to the event as well.
“It’s a lot to take care of one disabled kid, and then to maybe have your other kids on top of that. I think they love this,” she said.
Junior Anna Zentner said many of the items at their disposal for the day were donated by community businesses, like pizza and T-shirts.
“We’ve been working really hard and it’s been taking us a lot of time to get this all running. We’re really excited today,” Zentner said. “It’s nice to see this coming together so we can give the parents a break. Because of the constant demands they have of dealing with not only their kids, but their kids with medical disabilities, the training and stuff that they have to go through — it’s nice to help give them a break.”
Zentner said the goal is to hold more respite days in the future, whether that’s only once a year or more regular is yet to be decided.
Zentner, whose mother has been a longtime elementary school teacher in the district, has grown up watching school staffers interact and connect with children of all types. Part of that has led her to seek out a future career in nursing. Zentner said she plans to get a four-year nursing degree, “then hopefully get an advanced degree to be a nurse anesthetist after my undergraduate,” she said.
