Red Ribbon Week: NSCD and NS-CASA Celebrate “Life is a Puzzle, Solve it Drug Free!”
During the week of October 27-31st the North Shore School District and NS-CASA collaborated to celebrate Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is the largest substance abuse prevention campaign in the nation. It is an ideal way for people and communities to unite and take a visible stand against drugs. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. The goal is to lead and support our families and community in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug free youth. It is an opportunity to speak with our students grades K-12 about making healthy decisions.
This year’s theme was “Life is a Puzzle, Solve it Drug Free!” Students K-12 created puzzle pieces answering the question, “How Do You Keep Your Pieces Together?” The students were asked to think about what healthy coping mechanisms they use. Their responses included coping skills such as exercise, playing an instrument, reading, socializing, and many more. Additionally, the elementary schools celebrated with a theme week. At the high school, slides were on rotation on the televisions about the effects of substance use. At the middle school, this slide full of resources was shared with students and teachers.
NS-CASA and the North Shore School District partnered to sponsor the keynote speaker for grades 7-12, Stephen Hill. Stephen Hill - founder of Speak Sobriety, young person in recovery, bestselling author, recovery coach, and a defense attorney—is a renowned national speaker on substance use prevention and mental health awareness with a truly inspiring comeback story. Over the course of two days Stephen connected with all five grade levels. Stephen spoke to grades 7-11 last year. This year he did a follow up presentation for grades 9-11, breakout groups for the 8th grade, his original presentation for the 7th grade, and for the seniors a presentation called Know the Law, Safe a Life. The senior program focused on preparing our graduates to go off into the real world with a better understanding of the law and their rights as adults.
Director of Counseling, Dan Doherty, said “North Shore Schools is so thankful for our partnership with NS-CASA and all that they do for the community. Stephen Hill’s presentations were so engaging and have already led to productive conversations with students about making healthy choices.”
Article and photos submitted by Counseling Director Dan Doherty featuring Stephen Hill and students