June 2009
Possibly the First Ever Summer Workshop of its Kind for Area Teens!
June (23-25) - Smart Teens / Healthy Decisions Coalition hosted the Be Proud! Be Responsible! adolescent sexuality workshop for Garland County teens 11-13 and 14-17. Students received 6 hours of instruction in a lively, upbeat format to include games, brainstorming sessions, group activities, video clips and discussions. Classes met at the Community Counseling Services building in a round-table format to discuss:
- physical and emotional changes of puberty
- setting healthy personal boundaries
- relationship issues
- peer pressure
- self-esteem and how it affects decision-making
- communication skills (particularly refusal & negotiation)
- etiology and transmission modes of STIs
- personal vulnerability: how teen pregnancy or STI would affect dreams/goals
- abstinence as a responsible choice + how to discuss your decision w/ a partner
- protective measures + how to discuss sexually responsible choices w/ a partner
If your organization would like to host a workshop like this one or would like to host a workshop for parents on how to talk to their teen, please contact:
Ravyn Denton, Community Educator
501-617-0337
ravyn_d@hotmail.com
May 2009
The 8th Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy a Huge Success!
May 6th marked the 8th annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and GARLAND COUNTY's first ever involvement in the event as students from Hot Springs Middle School, Jessieville High School, and Fountain Lake High School hosted poster contests and opened up labs for nearly 200 teens on their campuses to go online and take the "Relationship IQ" quiz from www.stayteen.org/quiz to receive a stay teen wristband! Skits demonstrating how to refuse peer pressure, written and performed by drama students were performed at HSMS.
Hot Springs Middle School 6th grade poster contest winners:
Some "tweens" took a stand for National Day as well as sixth grade art students from Hot Springs Middle School brainstormed ways to combine images and a message to persuade middle school peers that waiting might be a good idea. Sixth grade National Day winners at Hot Springs Middle School were: [first place entry] Alexis Hagen and Fabiola Espinosa, [second place entry] Lauren H. and Tiauanna W., [third place entry] Ulenzen Darrough. Octavia Rollins and Alexis McMichael earned Honorable Mention.
 Jessieville High School poster contest winners:
Jessieville EAST Lab students got behind the cause, participating in the National Day Poster Contest. Garnering first place in Jessieville's National Day Poster Contest was a persuasive entry by Marina Sweetar (right). Second and third place awards went to Paige Williford (not pictured) and Tammy Huynh (left), respectively. Elyssa Mullenix (middle) was awarded Honorable Mention. CHECK BACK TO SEE/DOWNLOAD their posters!!
Fountain Lake High School poster contest winners:
Ft. Lake High School EAST Lab students similarly rallied behind the cause to host National Day events at their campus. Lisa Wallace (middle) (12th gr), working with teammates Kyle Edwards (left) (12th gr) and Jordan Graves (back row) (10th gr) took second with the persuasive poster they created for the competition. First place at Ft. Lake went to freshman Miccah Bowen (right).
- Teens from every state and the District of Columbia have taken the quiz and added the Relationship Reality Pop Quiz Contest widget to their personal online profiles and websites.
- According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which scours Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and dozens of other websites to quantify our nation's current online fixations, the National Day was the third most buzzed about topic online on May 7th.
- President Barack Obama spoke out with a message about the National Day. Read his message and learn about other National Campaign policy activities here.
WHAT ARE TEENS SAYING ABOUT THE NATIONAL DAY?
Though National Campaign.org is still collecting quizzes until the end of the month, they share some feedback received from teens about the quiz over the past week:
- "I thought it was a very good eye-opener. Most teens don’t think about how much getting pregnant could screw up their lives. I think this quiz will help people start thinking about sex and teen pregnancy and help them realize that they might not be as smart as they think." ~ Girl, age 15
- "I thought it was a good quiz. It seems like a good way to teach teens about sex if they are too afraid to ask their parents and are afraid of what they might say or do." ~ Guy, age 15
- "Being a teen parent myself, I think that more people should take this quiz. Hopefully it will help them avoid my situation. Being a mom is hard!" ~ Teen mom, age 17
- "I thought it was a great way to show what could happen if you don't protect yourself. Sex is very serious, and it shouldn't be taken lightly. This quiz is a wake up call to many teens. Thank you." ~ Girl, age 15
- "I took this quiz because I was curious. I was a teen mom (twice before I was 16). I wish that this was around when I was younger. Thank you for educating teens about this. Hopefully, they will think about this and won’t end up teen parents like I was!" ~ Teen mom, age 18
March 2009
2 Grown Up 2 Soon
 If you missed the March 17th public presentation on how environmental contaminants can affect hormone balance and trigger early puberty in both boys and girls, and you'd like to have a copy of the information, the PowerPoint presentation will be linked up soon!
2 Grown Up 2 Soon brochure
Resource List for Caregivers/Educators
Top Food Additives to Avoid
IN THE NEWS: BPA (chemical found in plastics) Much Worse for Women
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