The Modesto Bee (Modesto, CA) January 31, 2011
"Sometimes the difference between a good kid and a suspended kid is just that one had an adult who cared, who listened.
For a student who doesn't have that someone at home, a mentor can make all the difference, said Fairview Elementary Vice Principal Lorena Ortega.
'Based on last year's lower suspension numbers, it's working. We're one of the largest elementaries, but we were one of the lowest on suspension rates. (Mentors) have really stepped up to the plate and come up here whenever we needed them,' Ortega said.
Fairview, with 899 students in 2009-10, had 118 suspensions that year, a 23 percent drop from 154 suspensions the year before. A suspended student is out of school for a week or less, and might be suspended several times in one year." Read More
Monday, January 31, 2011
Alcohol Drinking Popular Among Teenage Girls
TopNews.com, January 29, 2011
"According to a government reports teenage girls under the age of 15 are found consuming alcohol upto 11.3 units in a week. This amount of alcohol is equivalent to six medium glass of wine or five pints of beer. The male counterparts on the other hand are drinking on an average of 11.9 units of alcohol per week.
The teenagers are found interested in drinking dangerous levels of spirits rather than drinking wine and lager. This report shows that the young women are only five percent behind their male counterparts.
These figures also depict the rapid rise of young women drinking alcohol. The cheap price of alcohol and their glamorous marketing in the super markets are causing the figures to rise." Read More
"According to a government reports teenage girls under the age of 15 are found consuming alcohol upto 11.3 units in a week. This amount of alcohol is equivalent to six medium glass of wine or five pints of beer. The male counterparts on the other hand are drinking on an average of 11.9 units of alcohol per week.
The teenagers are found interested in drinking dangerous levels of spirits rather than drinking wine and lager. This report shows that the young women are only five percent behind their male counterparts.
These figures also depict the rapid rise of young women drinking alcohol. The cheap price of alcohol and their glamorous marketing in the super markets are causing the figures to rise." Read More
Let's Get Real About Mentoring
The Huffington Post, January 27, 2011
"It's the end of National Mentoring Month and there are 15 million kids on waiting lists across the United States who hope to have a mentor. This posting, however, is not the perhaps anticipated plea that you consider these numbers of desolate, waiting youth and finally take up the banner to become a mentor yourself (although you might want to!)
It is, to the contrary, a plea for a fundamental change in the American mentoring model. Certainly it should be clear by now that in a nation of increasing 'parentlessness' we are NEVER going to have enough adult mentors to provide all these youth with the positive attention and support they need so badly by adhering the one-on-one, adult-mentor to youth-mentee model." Read More
"It's the end of National Mentoring Month and there are 15 million kids on waiting lists across the United States who hope to have a mentor. This posting, however, is not the perhaps anticipated plea that you consider these numbers of desolate, waiting youth and finally take up the banner to become a mentor yourself (although you might want to!)
It is, to the contrary, a plea for a fundamental change in the American mentoring model. Certainly it should be clear by now that in a nation of increasing 'parentlessness' we are NEVER going to have enough adult mentors to provide all these youth with the positive attention and support they need so badly by adhering the one-on-one, adult-mentor to youth-mentee model." Read More
Stepping Stones Fights Bullying
Norwalk Patch.com (Norwalk, CT) January 30, 2011
"It can start so early. Just Ask Arianna Bailey, a Brien McMahon High School senior who said bullies have already targeted one of her pre-school babysitting charges.
'It was really upsetting. The next day she didn’t want to go to school,' said Bailey.
All this because the youngster didn’t have the brand-name shearling boots that the other youngsters had.
To Bailey, who was picked on as a middle-schooler because she didn’t have a genuine brand-name athletic shoe, the scenario was all too familiar. The kind of constant torment that can wear someone down." Read More
"It can start so early. Just Ask Arianna Bailey, a Brien McMahon High School senior who said bullies have already targeted one of her pre-school babysitting charges.
'It was really upsetting. The next day she didn’t want to go to school,' said Bailey.
All this because the youngster didn’t have the brand-name shearling boots that the other youngsters had.
To Bailey, who was picked on as a middle-schooler because she didn’t have a genuine brand-name athletic shoe, the scenario was all too familiar. The kind of constant torment that can wear someone down." Read More
Thursday, January 27, 2011
More tips to stop cyber-bullying
Miami Herald (Miami-Dade, FL) January 27, 2011
"Many of you e-mailed me regarding last week article on cyber-bullying as to what you can do as parents. You can start by talking to kids about the issue and teaching them the rules below, from that will help prevent cyber-bullying from happening to them or someone they know.
Here’s what kids need to know:
• Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal websites.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password — not even friends.
• If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond. Save it or print it out and show it to your parents." Read More
"Many of you e-mailed me regarding last week article on cyber-bullying as to what you can do as parents. You can start by talking to kids about the issue and teaching them the rules below, from that will help prevent cyber-bullying from happening to them or someone they know.
Here’s what kids need to know:
• Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal websites.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password — not even friends.
• If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond. Save it or print it out and show it to your parents." Read More
Anxiety, Not Social Phobia, Spurs Teens to Drink More, Study Shows
Myhealthnewsdaily.com, January 27, 2011
"A new study in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism highlights the complex relationship between mental health and substance use.
Although it was known that anxious teens often self-medicate with alcohol, a group of Finnish researchers, led by Sari Fröjd at the University of Tampere, showed those teens are also more likely to continue using alcohol two years later.
Fröjd found that 65 percent of teens with anxiety who reported drinking weekly at the study's start continued to drink weekly two years later, whereas 55 percent of those without general anxiety disorder continued drinking that often.
The study shows that 'general anxiety certainly exacerbates drinking frequency,' Fröjd said." Read More
"A new study in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism highlights the complex relationship between mental health and substance use.
Although it was known that anxious teens often self-medicate with alcohol, a group of Finnish researchers, led by Sari Fröjd at the University of Tampere, showed those teens are also more likely to continue using alcohol two years later.
Fröjd found that 65 percent of teens with anxiety who reported drinking weekly at the study's start continued to drink weekly two years later, whereas 55 percent of those without general anxiety disorder continued drinking that often.
The study shows that 'general anxiety certainly exacerbates drinking frequency,' Fröjd said." Read More
High School Starts Campaign To Change Students' Misperceptions On Alcohol And Drug Use
The Hartford Courant (Haddam, CT) January 26, 2011
"In Haddam-Killingworth, most teens don't drink alcohol, use tobacco or smoke marijuana. This is a misperception by many teens. A social norms research based marketing campaign will aim to correct this misperception in the community starting in January.
The slogan 'What About You?' will be seen often on posters placed in locations throughout the school and the community for the next few months.
The posters will be part of the Haddam - Killingworth's Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition Social Norms Campaign. In addition, there will be a parent focus which will remind parents that it is important to know the whereabouts of their teen and who their teen is with.
All of the facts that will be featured on the posters are results of the 2010 H-K Search Institute youth survey conducted by the Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition. These facts will be featured on billboards, banners, and pens as well. The first parent billboard will be up on Route 154 from January through February." Read More
"In Haddam-Killingworth, most teens don't drink alcohol, use tobacco or smoke marijuana. This is a misperception by many teens. A social norms research based marketing campaign will aim to correct this misperception in the community starting in January.
The slogan 'What About You?' will be seen often on posters placed in locations throughout the school and the community for the next few months.
The posters will be part of the Haddam - Killingworth's Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition Social Norms Campaign. In addition, there will be a parent focus which will remind parents that it is important to know the whereabouts of their teen and who their teen is with.
All of the facts that will be featured on the posters are results of the 2010 H-K Search Institute youth survey conducted by the Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition. These facts will be featured on billboards, banners, and pens as well. The first parent billboard will be up on Route 154 from January through February." Read More
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