Schools

Students in Yorktown Schools Celebrate Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week, begun in 1985 to honor a drug enforcement agent who was working undercover and was killed, has grown into the most far-reaching and well-known drug prevention event in America.

In response to his murder, friends and family wore red ribbons in memory of his crusade against illegal drug use in this country. Today, schools across the nation continue the tradition of wearing red ribbons to promote choosing a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

During the week of October 25 – 29, students from throughout the Yorktown Central School District will be learning how to grow up safe, healthy and drug free.

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This year' s theme is ' Celebrate Red Ribbon Week…not just for a week but for life.' Everyone in Yorktown is invited to "Go Red" to help keep kids safe and healthy! Learning activities are designed to be developmentally appropriate for each grade.

For example, kindergarten students will learn about positive self esteem, keeping healthy and strong, including exercise, hygiene and healthy food. Students in grades one through three will learn about making good, healthy decisions and healthy life choices.

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On Wednesday, October 27, everyone will wear red, and members of Yorktown High School' s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Club will visit students in grades one through three at both Brookside and Mohansic Elementary Schools to facilitate discussions and to help each child write a healthy goal or promise to be added to a ' Tree of Life' in each of the schools' front lobbies.

The schools throughout the rest of the district will also engage in Red Ribbon Week activities and display a " Tree of Life" . Additionally, the SADD Club will display a "reality wall" in the high school to raise awareness about substance abuse.

Students and teachers are invited to write anonymously on paper ' bricks' a few sentences about how alcohol and/or other drugs have negatively impacted them or someone they know. The Yorktown Schools have participated in Red Ribbon Week for over a decade. Efforts are facilitated by a committee called " P.S. We Care," led by high school social worker Karen Profita, and including Tricy Cushner, President of the Alliance for Safe Kids (ASK).

The previous director, Joan Valenstein, will be remembered this year for the loving time and effort she donated to our community. Danielle Gamar, the Middle School Student Assistance Counselor, and Davia Bugge, the High School Student Assistance Counselor, also meet with students individually and in small groups for education and prevention activities to teach students skills to identify and resist social pressures to use substances, to correct erroneous perceptions about substance use, and provide referrals as needed.

The Student Assistance program is funded by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services through the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, the School district, and by corporate and private donations, and provides information and services for 24 middle schools throughout Westchester and Rockland counties. For more information, visit http://mentalhealth.westchestergov.com or http://www.oasas.state.ny.us.


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