Prevention of bullying & drug abuse

ROYAL CITY - If you notice youngsters around town being nicer nowadays, it could be that social interaction education at Red Rock Elementary is working.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, which is celebrated at Red Rock in a variety of ways. Some activities have already been completed, and there are still some to be done.

According to counselor Nicole Dunn, the Royal School District will highlight the need for students to stand up against bullying behavior by celebrating Unity Day tomorrow, Oct. 22.

"Unity Day is a day when students, staff and the community are encouraged to wear orange as a symbol of our united stance against Bullying Behavior," Dunn said.

Dunn has been teaching developmentally appropriate guidance lessons in grades K-5 explaining ways in which students can treat others and themselves with care and respect.

"The definitions of bullying behaviors, school rules regarding it and the various ways to report it, were taught the first week of school," she said.

These lessons are reinforced by teachers and staff. There are also informational bulletin boards, with this month's Character Trait of the Month board highlighting examples of treating yourself and others with respect.

"We are quite lucky with the group of students here at Red Rock Elementary," Dunn said. "As a whole they seem very open to learning about different ways to solve conflict and work together. Students are often full of good ideas and examples during guidance lessons, and the parents in the community seem to be very supportive of these efforts."

Respect will be a theme throughout the month's events. Resources and activities for youth regarding this topic can be found at www.pacer.org.

Dunn noted the Royal Parent Teacher Organization provides support on Unity Day in a variety of ways. The PTO will set up a bulletin board bringing attention to Unity Day. It will provide "Kids Against Bullying" bookmarks to every student in the school.

"And they will be helping with prizes for the classes at each grade level who have students and teachers wearing the most orange," Dunn said.

Red Rock will cap off October with the celebration of Red Ribbon Week (RRW), a national campaign aimed at preventing drug and alcohol use and abuse. This year's theme is "Love Yourself, Be Drug Free."

RRW will be celebrated the week of Oct. 27-31.

"The students and staff really embrace the spirit of the week, and we hold a different mini theme every day to encourage conversation around the topic," Dunn said. "For example, students may wear pajama's one day because they are 'Dreaming of a Drug Free Future' or their favorite sports team's shirt as we come together to "Team Up Against Drugs."

There will be daily announcements reminding student's of the importance of the week, and Dunn and Maria Latimer will use Informational Text time to explain Red Ribbon Week, make drug free pledges with the students and complete other Red Ribbon related activities.

"My hope is the theme of respecting yourself and others can be incorporated throughout the month," Dunn said. "I know our teachers and staff will do that here at school. I encourage parents and members of the community to celebrate these important national awareness days, as well."