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The Countdown to Red Ribbon Week Begins!
Can you feel the excitement in the air? Red Ribbon Week is almost here! During October 23rd - 31st, schools and communities across the country will celebrate living a substance-free lifestyle. Here are some fun ideas for making the most of Red Ribbon Week in your schools and communities! Monday: Goal for It! Talk to your students about how substance-use interferes with reaching their goals. Students can name a short-term goal they’d like to reach by the end of the week. Display the Goal Setting Poster in your classroom to help your students track their progress. Tuesday: Brain Science! Talk with students about the negative effects of substance-use on the developing brain and body and how they can protect their bodies as they grow. Hold a short essay writing contest for students to choose and research one negative effect of substance-use on the brain or body. Wednesday: Bring it Home! Parents and caregiver influence is essential to helping students stay substance-free. Home Workouts provide great opportunities for students to share with their parents what they are learning about substance-free living. Choose one from your Too Good toolkit to send home with students or design your own. Thursday: Around Town! Students who live substance-free are positive role models in their communities. Red Ribbon Week is a great time to encourage students to volunteer in their communities and help others see how passionate they are about making healthy decisions. Friday: Happy, Healthy, and Strong! A big part of being a good friend is being a positive influence. Students can sign a cutout handprint to put on the classroom door in a pledge to a substance-free lifestyle that will illustrate pro-social bonding. Looking for more? Check out Celebrating Healthy Choices! This one-week activity set for Grades K-5 introduces the fundamentals of social-emotional skills while building school connectedness. Kits include everything you need to organize your school-wide events: plans and scripts for opening and closing assemblies, fully scripted fun and engaging activities, and so much more! However you choose to celebrate, here’s wishing you a fun and inspiring week! Let the countdown begin!
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3 Tips for a Positive School Year
School is back in session, and summer is winding down. It won’t be long before the first nip of fall will be in the air, which means October and Red Ribbon Week are just around the corner. This October 23-31, youth will celebrate substance-free living with this year’s Red Ribbon Week slogan “YOLO. Be Drug Free.”It is common for youth to perceive drug-use as normal, but in actuality most youth do not use drugs or alcohol. And when kids say or hear “YOLO” this is the exact reason why. Our kids know they only have one chance at life, and rather than risking it on drugs and alcohol, they embrace healthy activities. How will your school or organization choose to raise awareness for living healthy, substance-free lives? Red Ribbon Week is the perfect time for Celebrating Healthy Choices. This one-week activity set helps you make the most of special school-wide events for your Kindergarten through Grade 5 students. Everything you need to organize your school-wide event, including plans and scripts for opening and closing assemblies, as well as fully scripted fun and engaging activities, is provided in straightforward kits. Activities include songs, raps, and puppet play that teach students the social emotional skills they need to make healthy choices. Students learn rap lyrics and get a chance to perform them at a school-wide performance. Celebrating Healthy Choices is a fun way to bring everyone together to foster a healthier school climate and celebrate a good cause. YOLO. So make healthy choices and stay drug free.
Read moreHow will you celebrate Red Ribbon Week?
School is back in session, and summer is winding down. It won’t be long before the first nip of fall will be in the air, which means October and Red Ribbon Week are just around the corner. This October 23-31, youth will celebrate substance-free living with this year’s Red Ribbon Week slogan “YOLO. Be Drug Free.”It is common for youth to perceive drug-use as normal, but in actuality most youth do not use drugs or alcohol. And when kids say or hear “YOLO” this is the exact reason why. Our kids know they only have one chance at life, and rather than risking it on drugs and alcohol, they embrace healthy activities. How will your school or organization choose to raise awareness for living healthy, substance-free lives? Red Ribbon Week is the perfect time for Celebrating Healthy Choices. This one-week activity set helps you make the most of special school-wide events for your Kindergarten through Grade 5 students. Everything you need to organize your school-wide event, including plans and scripts for opening and closing assemblies, as well as fully scripted fun and engaging activities, is provided in straightforward kits. Activities include songs, raps, and puppet play that teach students the social emotional skills they need to make healthy choices. Students learn rap lyrics and get a chance to perform them at a school-wide performance. Celebrating Healthy Choices is a fun way to bring everyone together to foster a healthier school climate and celebrate a good cause. YOLO. So make healthy choices and stay drug free.
Read moreBig news from the Big Easy!
School may be out, but we’re not on vacation yet. You can find us in the Big Easy July 9th-11th, as this year we are proud sponsors of the ASCAFE at the American School Counselor Association Conference in New Orleans. Come on out and meet us for coffee or visit us at Booth 225 for a quick chat. While you are with us, enter to win a free curriculum kit of your choice. And on this notable occasion, we are excited to announce our upcoming release of the revised editions of Too Good for Violence-Social Perspectives for Grade 4, Grade 5, and High School! The revised curricula build social emotional skills in children and teens for self-awareness and social awareness, protective factors essential to promoting peaceful peer engagement and mitigating risky behavior. Fun and engaging activities in the curricula teach children and teens how to manage their emotions, resolve conflicts peacefully, manage bullying situations, and so much more. In our efforts to provide children with effective prevention education, where would we be without our school counselors? Indeed, few people know a school and its students better than school counselors do. Their dedication to improving students’ lives shows not only their commitment to student success but also to ensure their students are equipped with the skills necessary for success in life. Efforts to building social emotional competencies encourage students to develop a better understanding of their lives and be more present in the world around them. Equipped with these skills, children are prepared to resist negative peer influence, engage in pro-social bonding, and make positive decisions that will help keep them on track to reaching their goals. As mentors and educators, school counselors bring prevention efforts full circle; they truly guide children toward their happiest and healthiest selves. So let’s give a shout-out to all our school counselors and the impact they have on their students’ lives and their school environment. We look forward to seeing you at the conference this week!
Read moreJune is National Safety Month
It’s a great time to spread awareness of and ensure safer environments that can improve students’ social emotional learning and behavior. Academic Safety: As advocates for student learning, teachers are in a unique position to create and promote a safe and supportive learning environment that encourages students to challenge themselves to learn. A learning environment that rewards an effort to try, even at the risk of failure, promotes resiliency as the child is encouraged to try and try again. Having high expectations of the students is a big part of this supportive environment. Students who know their teacher is invested in them and expects them to perform will work harder to meet that expectation. For adults, words of encouragement and a reminder that someone cares about us and is invested in us go a long way to building our commitment in our work. Children are no different. Simple gestures that reinforce the commitment of a teacher will bond the child more to their school and to their learning. Students need a safe and supportive learning environment that encourages them to try and to risk failure so they can learn from their mistakes and keep trying. The student bond with school is a strong protective factor that encourages children to interact with each other and their teacher as they learn, motivating them to work hard to reach their goals and resist risky behavior. Physical Safety: Supervision and clear communication about maintaining boundaries while at school promote safe environments in places like classrooms, hallways, lunch rooms, and outdoor areas. Children who are self- and socially aware and equipped to resolve disputes peacefully are less likely to engage in physical confrontations with others and are more likely to deescalate conflicts when they arise. Students encouraged to respect differing opinions and to acknowledge the needs of others, build stronger, healthier relationships. Learning environments that emphasize and encourage more peaceful approaches, such as compromise or agreeing to disagree, encourage children to practice resolving differences and respect others despite those differences. Emotional Safety: Students excel in an environment that nurtures healthy relationships with their peers and their teachers. Students thrive when they have positive role models in their lives who set examples of appropriate behavior, healthy attitudes, and emotional response. Whether it is a teacher, a counselor, or a coach, students need someone at school they can reach out to in times of need. Peer groups matter too. Children who are part of a group that values respect for themselves and for others are less likely to be bullied and less likely to bully others. Students who can identify and bond with positive peer groups who are positive influences make better, more responsible decisions. Students are more likely to speak up if they are the target or witness of a bullying situation when ready and equipped to report and refuse bullying behaviors alongside other children. Safe learning environments can be created or enhanced for students. Hence, children will feel more comfortable learning about key concepts such as taking healthy risks, conflict resolution, and bullying prevention.
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Introducing Too Good for Drugs High School Revised
A look at any reputable study on current alcohol and drug use among youth will bring no surprise; substance use is still prevalent among teens. As children enter their teen years, they face increasingly complex challenges and influences. According to a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 60 percent of high school students, at both public and private schools, reported drug-infected campuses. Such statistics make prevention efforts more relevant than ever. This week, individuals from across the nation will convene in Washington D.C. for CADCA’s 26th Annual National Leadership Forum and SAMHSA’s 12th Annual Prevention Day. Coalition leaders, prevention specialists, public health professionals, parents, and youth will join together to address the essential part prevention plays in keeping our youth substance-free. And on this auspicious occasion, we announce with excitement our latest prevention effort: the forthcoming release of our revised Too Good for Drugs High School curriculum. The revised curriculum builds social emotional competency through fun and age appropriate lessons that foster self-awareness and social awareness. With the help of educators, counselors, and prevention specialists, our evidence-based curriculum equips teens with the skills they need to resist negative influence that may lead to substance use, as well as prepares them for academic success that will carry over into their college and professional careers. Sign up today to receive program updates and news!
Read moreThe Benefits of Responsible Decision Making
"The time is always right to do what is right."- Martin Luther King Jr. As children grow, they face ever evolving challenges that require them to make increasingly complex decisions. For a kindergartner, this might be deciding to share a toy. For a senior in high school, this could be recognizing negative peer influence and incorporating that knowledge into their decision making. Learning to consider the positive and negative consequences of a decision is essential at any of these stages, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) identifies responsible decision making as one of the five pillars of social emotional learning. CASEL states that decision-making skills can help children negotiate the following: Ethical Standards: By being challenged to make decisions, children evaluate and develop ethical standards that influence character building. Social Norms: Decision-making skills that incorporate positive social norms as an influence help children navigate the difficulties of adolescence and resist peer pressure and peer influence. Consequences: Children with strong decision-making skills can evaluate potential consequences of actions in order to determine what choice is the best option. By developing responsible decision-making skills early on, children are prepared to face the real world challenges that will impact the course of their lives. And with those responsible decision-making skills in place, children are equipped to lead happy and prosperous lives.
Read moreVolunteerism Encourages Social Emotional Learning
The Holiday season is a time to be grateful for the many blessings we have in our lives. It is also a time we can help make the lives of others better. A report on National Public Radio states one in five families with children will go without enough food during the holiday season. Families, schools, and communities have an opportunity to address these needs by volunteering locally and by donating toys, food, and other goods. Children who volunteer become more aware of their own lives in relation to the lives of others. Volunteering also offers children the opportunity to develop and apply key social emotional skills. Social Awareness: Children exposed to and aware of the diverse backgrounds of others learn how to interact with others with respect, empathy, and open-mindedness. Responsible Decision-Making: Volunteering teaches children to make respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions in situations they may not have otherwise encountered. Relationship Skills: By listening to and interacting with the experiences of others, children learn to communicate clearly, listen actively, and respond to the needs of others. Social emotional skills are essential for academic, personal, and professional success. Through volunteering, children have the opportunity to better the lives of those around them and to develop skills that will lead them to lifelong success. All of us at the Mendez Foundation wish you a safe and happy holiday season!
Read moreBuilding School Connectedness
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocate school connectedness as an essential ingredient to buffer youth against engaging in risky behaviors such as tobacco, alcohol, and drug use or aggressive and violent behavior. Students who feel connected to their schools stake a claim in their learning and are therefore more likely to make healthy choices and stay on a path toward academic success. Schools, families, and communities must work together to create a caring and supportive environment for students. Adult Support: Parent engagement encourages positive student behavior and academic success. Schools can engage families to take part in their child’s education through interactive take-home activities or newsletters. Belonging to a Positive Peer Group: Students with strong social emotional skills are better equipped for positive peer bonding. Students are faced with the challenge of selecting their friends, and strong decision-making skills will help them choose positive peer groups. Commitment to Education: Students who have an active interest in their education are more persistent in succeeding academically. Participatory learning enhances students’ commitment to their education by keeping them interested and engaged. School Environment: A caring and supportive school environment fosters student learning. Students who feel they are valued are more comfortable and therefore more willing to take healthy risks as they try and learn. Students who are actively connected with their schools develop positive behaviors that reinforce their decisions to avoid risky behaviors and to set positive short and long term goals. Strong social emotional skills, coupled with a supportive school climate and caring adult involvement, foster in students the resiliency they need to meet the challenges they face in childhood, adolescence, and beyond into adulthood.
Read moreFour Attributes of Empathy
Empathy is an essential trait that aids meaningful connection with others in both our personal life and work life. Instilling empathy as a norm for children at an early age promotes the development of good character necessary in the complex social environments in education and the workplace. Numerous articles highlight and explore ways to recognize and cultivate empathy in both children and adults. One such article by Theresa Wiseman published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing is “A Concept Analysis of Empathy.” Wiseman takes a practical exploration of the mechanics of empathy and its development. I would walk a mile in your shoes. The first step to developing empathy for other people is to see things from another’s perspective. Hey! No judgement here. Once we adopt another’s point of view, we must reserve negative judgment. No hidden agenda. Staying as neutral as possible, we can then gain an understanding of how another feels. I feel you. The final step to developing empathy is to communicate the understanding we have gained. In this way, the circle of empathy is reciprocated and barriers are dissolved. Empathy requires two fundamental social emotional components: understanding emotions and applying effective communication. The development of these skills from a young age establishes an intrinsic capacity to connect with peers. We can encourage children along the path toward empathy by helping them identify their emotions and to recognize those emotions in others. Furthermore, children who build effective communication skills are able to have an open dialogue about their emotions and the emotions they identify in others. Ultimately it is in the affirmation of one another’s emotions that we truly connect.
Read moreMendez Appears in Summer Issue of SEEN Magazine
Charles E. Mendez III appears in the Summer Issue of SEEN Magazine with his article "Addressing Youth Violence for Safer Schools." Mendez writes, "How do we address youth violence and create a sanctuary within our schools? Character education and social emotional skill development are natural adjuncts in the establishment of safe and supportive learning environments."
Read moreNational Prevention Week
Wagner was so excited to participate in SAMHSA’s “I Choose” Project for National Prevention Week! As we wrap up a week of spreading messages for prevention, we at the Mendez Foundation reflect on our origins, and we thought it would be fun to share with you a little of our history. Doing good work for the health and well-being of our children is nothing new for the Mendez Foundation. For more than thirty-five years, we've been developing and implementing prevention education programs K-12 that teach kids they are too good for drugs and violence. Our evidence-based, skill-building programs make a positive impact on the lives of students, teachers, parents, and community leaders nationwide. Charles E. Mendez established the C. E. Mendez Foundation in 1964 to support local charitable organizations serving underprivileged children and their families living in the Tampa Bay area. Following his death in 1967, Charles E. Mendez’s legacy and the Mendez Foundation were carried on by his family. In 1975, Charles E. Mendez, Jr., now President of the Foundation, grew concerned with the alarming growth of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use by young people. He refocused the Foundation's efforts to develop and deliver prevention education programs to address these substance abuse problems. To that end, our own Prevention Specialists have been positive role models delivering Too Good for Drugs in Hillsborough County Public Schools since 1980. The Foundation's programs would be developed with this philosophy in mind: providing children age-appropriate, factual information about the negative health effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, combined with development of critical decision making and goal setting skills, delivered by professional educators who are positive role models, will result in better decision-making by our children. We also put our community stakeholder hats on when we put together fun, free family events like the Too Good for Drugs Walk and Kidfest and the I am Too Good for Drugs Junior Gasparilla Distance Classic events in Tampa. Summertime in Tampa bridges the school years with the Summer Parks program in the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Centers. Our social emotional learning skills-based prevention programs soon gained national recognition, and our curricula are currently used by over 3,500 school districts, community agencies, and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. As prevention educators, we have a professional commitment to the careful development, rigorous testing, and on-going refinement of our programs. As an organization, we have a time honored commitment to ready children for success in school and in their future careers. It's our purpose and our passion.
Read moreMendez Appears in SEEN Magazine
The article, "Build Protection Against Risky Behavior," written by Charles E. Mendez III, appears in the Spring Issue of SEEN Magazine. Mendez writes, "Adolescents equipped with higher social emotional competencies are more likely to value themselves and their opportunities. It is essential, then, for us to teach adolescents from an early age to recognize and apply their capacity to set and fulfill reachable goals. The willingness to stake a claim in one’s own future provides something to lose, something to protect." Read the full article here.
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