October 31st, 2017

Red Ribbon Week 2017 is in the books. Whew! What a week! I just love how our school and community come together to support this week for our kids. To help our students remember that "YOUR FUTURE IS KEY, SO STAY DRUG FREE!"

On Monday we started off with an award assembly and used it to kick off Red Ribbon Week. We tipped our hats (or caps) to being Drug Free. Everyone could wear a hat or a cap to school. At the award assembly, I gave out a "Counselor's Award" to one child in every class that may not win other awards, but has shown good character and has been a friend to all. Those kids may not always make great grades, but I feel those skills should still be rewarded. Every student received a Red Ribbon to wear for the week.

Tuesday was Crazy Hair and Socks day. I loved how creative the kids get with their hair. Even the boys got in on the action. We passed out these little mints I ordered from Nimco.com to every student on this day.

Wednesday we had Dress for Success Day. This little sweetie wore her Wonder Woman Shirt with her medical clothes to help girls feel more empowered and to let them know that they can do the same jobs the boys can do. I told her great minds must think alike. On this day we had speakers from Harding University School of Pharmacy speak to the students about Prescription Drug safety. Student received pencils and pledge stickers to stick on the banners we made on this day. Pencils and Stickers were ordered from Oriental Trading Company.

Thursday was PJ day. We also showed the FBI movie "CHASING THE DRAGON" to our 5th and 6th grade students. Be aware that I showed the edited version (the original has a testimony from an inmate that uses words not appropriate for elementary school showing.) This movie is very in your face, but the content is well worth it. We had a representative from the Arkansas State Police and our own resource officer, Dustin Starkey, who did a fabulous job introducing the film and answering questions about the movie and drugs in our community. You can link to a free copy of the edited version of this movie here. On this day, students received Drug Free tokens to help them remember their pledges. Another great short video to show kids is called Nuggets youtu.be/HUngLgGRJpo. It’s a great video to explain to kids of all ages what addiction is like. My 3rd graders were actually so into this video that they were begging the main character of this story (a bird) to not try the special flower again. Nuggets is a powerful video disguised as a cartoon.

Friday we ended Red Ribbon Week with Show Good Character Day. Teachers and Students dressed up as their favorite book characters to promote Literacy and Drug Awareness at our school. We ended the day with a Red Ribbon Assembly where we reviewed with the kids what they learned the past week and had some games for the kids and the teachers to play. On this day, all students received a sucker (from Nimco.com) that says, "Say Boo to Drugs."

Then after school on Friday, some of us may have had a little too much fun with our costumes....

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