Okay, if you haven't notice, October is a pretty busy month for school counselors. If you are like me, you probably have been asked (or directed, in some cases) to coordinate your school bullying awareness and Red Ribbon Week activities. During the last week of September, I perpetually looked at the calendar and thought that I would have plenty of time to get these events together--yeah, right. Then I suddenly realized over the weekend that my time is running out!!! If you are feeling unprepared, I am right there with you!!
So, let's say you are in a jam, desparately searching the internet for ideas, and you have to come up with something fast - - you have come to the right blog post. In fact, this is exactly how I live my life!!
Bullying Awareness
Need some simple ideas for your bullying awareness campaign? Let's look at three quick and cheap ideas for bullying awareness for your school counseling program.
1. Celebrate Unity Day by wearing orange on October 19th and encourage your students to be an upstander against bullying. Pacers.org has some great free resources for schools to participate in Unity Day on October 19th. If you don't have time for an elaborate campaign, just have your students wear orange and share upstander tips.
2. Pick a day or a week in October to conduct a kindness campaign at your school. Encourage your students to perform at least one act of kindness to another student. You can create a bulletin board with ideas for students to see as they pass by in the hall.
Free Kindness Bulletin Board from For High School Counselors TPT
3. Conduct a Mix it Up at lunch event in October by encouraging students to sit at different tables. You can do this different ways, but this may take a little planning on your part. I am attaching the Mix It Up guide for you to get some ideas.
Leaving bullying awareness, let's move to Red Ribbon Week. This campaign does require some planning and can be stressful to put together. So, let's say you are putting this together at the last minute - - what are some quick and somewhat painless ideas???
Red Ribbon Week Activity Ideas
The great news is that there are tons of free downloads that you can get from the Red Ribbon Campaign website. There are also a lot of great ideas of how to create a phenonmenal Red Ribbon Week, but for this blog, we are not focusing on a complex campaign. We are staying S-I-M-P-L-E!!
Okay, here are 10 ideas -- pick one or as many as you like!!
1. Have students and faculty wear red to start the Red Ribbon Week campaign. Also, students can decorate their lockers and teachers can decorate their doors. Best door and lock get a prize -- just an idea! See the door decoration below for inspiration -- not my creation, but I like it!!
 |
| Here is a door idea from a school during Red Ribbon Week |
2. Make daily announcements with different information about drug use and how drugs can negatively impact the teen body and brain.
Sample Red Ribbon Week Announcements
3. Ask the cafeteria to serve red velvet cake or cookies to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.
4. Pass out red ribbons in homeroom (don't forget stick pins as well).
5. Ask students to sign the Red Ribbon Week pledge.
6. Ask for approval from your administrator to show "Dead on Arrival" regarding the dangers of fentanyl use to your students. If this is not possible, just ask your health and/or science teachers to show the film. There is a lesson plan that goes with this film as well.
7. Want a fun activity??? Contact your local police department, sheriff's department, or School Resource Officer and request a pair of googles that simulate impairment. Find a tricycle and have students take turns trying to ride a tricycle through a short obstacle course. If you cannot find a tricycle, have the students try to walk a straight line. They can't!!!
8. Encourage your families to eat dinner as a family, either at home or out together, and encourage them to have a conversation around healthy habits. See the Family Table Guide for discussion prompts.
9. Hold a Red Ribbon Week poster contest or essay for your students. The best poster and/or essay can be featured on the announcements or displayed in an prominent area of the school. You can even give a small award for the students' efforts.
Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest
10. If you want to do a little more, consider conducting a Red Ribbon Week Spirit Week for students. There are a lot of different ideas you can incorporate!! Here are some ideas from different schoools below...
If you decide you want to go all out, see more Red Ribbon Week ideas from my blog. Back in the day, I was in charge of coordinating all of our district-wide activities.
Finally, here are some additional resources for Red Ribbon Week that you might can use either now or in the future.
Red Ribbon Week Resources
Students Against Destructive Decisions
National Institute on Drug Abuse Lesson Plans
I hope your ideas all come together. Remember, I am feeling the pressure too!!
Comments
Post a Comment