The Wheel Of Misfortune

By Tanjua Damon

Middle school students have to be right on the mark in the “Wheel of Misfortune” game that tests their knowledge and reinforces the health curriculum of drugs and alcohol at the school.

Guidance counselor Kate MacKinney and school resource officer Gladys Pisani are challenging the students to use to information they already know to answer the questions and to use the same information to make smart choices when it comes to drugs and alcohol.

Currently the homerooms at the middle school are competing to get to the playoffs of the “Wheel of Misfortune” game, which features questions about substance abuse in areas including inhalants, narcotics, steroids, hallucinogens, cocaine, stimulants, marijuana, depressants, and alcohol. The homerooms split into two groups and compete against each other. The group with the highest score goes on to see if they top other homeroom scores.

“This reinforces health education,” Ms MacKinney said. “It’s another way to work with kids in groups.”

The game not only helps the students learn more, but also helps the counselors and teachers see what information the students are retaining.

“This teaches us a lot about the kids,” Ms MacKinney said.

Groups of ten to 12 students from a homeroom work together to answer the questions. The team captain spins the wheel and then brings the category question back to the group where everyone must decide what the final answer will be.

“We hope they learn more along the way,” Officer Pisani said, “and are able to make better decisions.”

The group also received a choice question at the end where they are given a situation and have to decide what the best solution would be.

In April there will be a playoff between three teams who had the top score.