| Information from our Student Assistant Professional's! |
Stand Up for Teens: October Is for Kindness, Bullying Prevention & Healthy Choices! ❤️🧡
October is Bullying Prevention Month and the time of year we celebrate Red Ribbon Week! Our student prevention club, Stand Up for Teens, is bringing these two important campaigns together to promote kindness, inclusion, standing up for others, and making healthy, substance-free choices.
Our campaign kicked off Friday, October 23, with daily morning announcements sharing prevention facts, helpful information, and opportunities for students to get involved. Here’s a look at what our students have been doing!
💙 Caught You Being Kind | October 23–30
We’re encouraging staff to watch for students demonstrating kindness through everyday actions. When a student is caught doing something kind, they receive a blue Pride Slip with their name on it to enter into a school raffle. One student per grade level will receive a prize, with winners announced Monday, November 2!
Kindness can look like including someone who feels left out, helping a classmate, standing up for someone, or simply making someone feel welcome. We want to celebrate these small actions that can make a big difference in someone's day.
❤️🧡 Hand in Hand, Let’s Take a Stand… Against Bullying & Drugs!
On Friday, October 23, students had the opportunity to sign their names on red and orange paper hands to show their commitment to treating others with kindness, standing against bullying, and making substance-free choices. The signed hands were added to a bulletin board in the commons in the shape of a large ribbon.
Orange represents bullying prevention, and red represents Red Ribbon Week. Together, they remind us of the importance of creating a safe, supportive, and healthy school community.
🌟 Share Your Natural High | Monday, October 26
During Breakfast, our Stand Up for Teens members will host a table in the commons where students can share the things and activities that give them a natural high—the things that bring them joy, excitement, connection, or a natural boost in mood! This activity encourages students to recognize the many healthy, substance-free ways to feel good, manage stress, build connections, and enjoy life. Natural highs can come from playing sports, listening to music, spending time with friends, creating art, being outdoors, helping others, or doing something they love!
👕❤️🧡 Wear Red and Orange Day & Prevention Wheel | Wednesday, October 28
Students and staff are encouraged to wear red and orange to show their support for bullying prevention and Red Ribbon Week! Club members will have a table in the commons where students can stop by for a treat if they’re wearing red and/or orange. Students who forgot to wear red and orange—or simply don’t have anything in those colors—can spin the big wheel and answer a simple question about choosing kindness or choosing not to use drugs or other substances. After participating, students can pick up a red and orange necklace to wear to show their support and commitment to making kind, healthy choices.
We want every student to know that their choices matter and that small actions can make a big difference in creating a safe, supportive school community!
🏡 How Families Can Help
The conversations we have at school are even more powerful when they continue at home! Here are a few questions you can ask your student this week:
- What is one way you can show kindness to someone at school?
- How can you help a classmate who is being left out or bullied?
- What can you do if you see someone being treated unkindly?
- What are some healthy ways to handle stress or peer pressure?
- What helps you feel included, respected, and supported?
Remind your student that standing up for someone doesn't always mean confronting the person who is bullying. It can mean refusing to laugh or join in, checking on the person afterward, including them, or asking a trusted adult for help. No one has to handle bullying alone.
You can also remind your student that they can use the STOP method to resist peer pressure: Say no, Tell why not, Offer an alternative activity, and Promptly leave or “Peace Out.” Practicing these steps can help students feel more confident setting boundaries, making healthy choices, and standing by their values, even when others are pressuring them to do something they know isn’t right for them.
Thank you for partnering with us to help our students build positive relationships, make healthy choices, and create a school where everyone feels they belong. We are proud of our Stand Up for Teens members for leading these efforts and helping spread the message that our choices matter!
Go Royals & Bulldogs! ❤️🧡
  
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