Wednesday, October 24, 2001
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Wednesday, October 24, 2001 |
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Red Ribbon Week festivities planned for Fayette schools Fayette will soon be seeing red as students throughout the county's school system celebrate national Red Ribbon Week. The purpose of the celebration is to present a unified and visible effort toward the creation of a drug-free America. This week is designed to create awareness concerning the problems related to the use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs as well as violence. Fayette schools will celebrate the week Oct. 23-31 by participating in a multitude of activities that vary by school. The theme for this year is "Every Child is a Star." Each school will be given a personalized banner to hang in a prominent location to remind students about Red Ribbon Week events. The week will kick off as students across the county are asked to sign pledge cards certifying they will lead a drug-free life-style. This year's event will differ from previous ones in Fayette since it will be the first time that the drug-free message is tied to the school system's language arts curriculum. Students across all grade levels will integrate what they learn during the week by writing books, stories, essays and plays as well as reading books, doing word searches and creating posters. "We thought it was important that Red Ribbon somehow tie into the curriculum so we decided to start with language arts. We don't want the children just to hear about Red Ribbon; we want them to show us what they have learned," said Deborah Crockett, school psychologist and chairman of the Red Ribbon Week Committee. In addition to academic lessons, schools have also planned fun activities. Many schools are hosting spirit and red t-shirt days. Students at Brooks Elementary will put "A Cap on Drugs" by wearing hats to school and Tyrone Elementary will "turn their backs to drugs" by wearing their t-shirts inside out or backwards. Rising Starr Middle School has decided to devote the entire month of October to celebrate Red Ribbon, drug-free communities and patriotism. All staff and students will wear red t-shirts Oct. 17 and will form the letters "USA" on the school's football field. Even school cafeterias are taking part in the week's festivities by offering a special menu selection. Oct. 24, all students will be able to choose from "just say no" nuggets and "hugs not drugs" cookies. The focal point of the 2001 celebration will be the Red Ribbon rally scheduled for Oct. 25 at Fayette County High School's Tiger Stadium. Fifth-grade students from all of the county's 14 elementary schools will attend the rally wearing red and white t-shirts. Lee Haney, Mr. Olympia, and Donna Lowry, education reporter for WXIA Channel 11, will make special appearances. Haney, who has been named Mr. Olympia more times than any other contender, will tell students how he has conditioned his body naturally and earned the title of Mr. Olympia without the help of drugs. Lowry will get students excited about living drug-free lives by leading them in a cheer. Additionally, several students will talk to the fifth graders about their drug-free lifestyles. Two nationally acclaimed choral groups, the Sandy Creek High School mixed chorus and the Fayette County High School chorus, will perform. The rally will begin with the signing of a Red Ribbon pledge card by schools Superintendent John DeCotis. Crockett said the committee decided to focus the rally on fifth grade students since research indicates that students are beginning to experiment with drugs at earlier ages. "Children get a lot of information on drugs when they enter middle and high school. We see this event as a last awareness push to strengthen their knowledge base before they make the transition to the next school level," Crockett explained. The Red Ribbon Week campaign originated when drug traffickers murdered federal Agent Enrique Camarena in 1985. After his death a small community displayed red ribbons out of respect for Camarena's courage. The red ribbon has grown and is now a symbol of commitment to reduce the demand for illegal drugs in each community across the United States.
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