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Neighbors | Submitted.AES students wore exercise outfits on Oct. 24 as a part of the school's Red Ribbon Week. The school used the conversations of choosing a drug-free life to talk about making healthy choices, like exercising.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Students dressed in fancy clothing for the "Too Fancy For Drugs" theme on Monday Oct. 23. Second grade teacher Kristin Havaich and school counselor Penny Callahan organized the Red Ribbon Week to begin conversations about drugs with students at school and at home.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Austintown Elementary Schools students dressed as their favorite super heroes as a part of their "Super Heroes Don't Do Drugs" day on Oct. 26. Many dressed as comic book characters, but some dressed as police officers or fireman. Second grade teacher Ashley Wallace wore a shirt commemorating her hero Cam Jaros, a student at Austintown currently fighting cancer.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Students at Austintown Elementary School dressed in bright clothes on Oct. 25 for the school's "My Future Is Too Bright For Drugs" theme. Kristin Havaich, second grade teacher and care coordinator at the school, said the school had not done Red Ribbon Week for a few years after the schools combined, but she felt the school needed to bring it back in the wake of the opioid crisis.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Austintown Elementary School teachers and staff dressed up along with students for Red Ribbon Week. The school had a different theme for each day. On Oct. 26, the school dressed as super heroes for their day of "Super Heroes Don't Do Drugs." Pictured are, from left, Ashley Wallace, Kristin Havaich, Penny Callahan and Julie Emrich.
by ZACK SHIVELY
The Austintown Elementary School started a conversation about drugs with their students through thematic dress up days during Red Ribbon Week of Oct. 23-27.
Second-grade teacher and care coordinator of the elementary school Kristin Havaich organized the theme of each day with school counselor Penny Callahan. The school has done Red Ribbon Week in the past, but they have not done it in the past few years since the schools combined.
“Red Ribbons are a symbol of our commitment to raise awareness of the destruction caused by drugs in America,“ said Callahan.
Each day, the students and teachers came to school dressed in different outfits to match the theme for that day. The themes were “Too Fancy for Drugs,“ “Exercise Mind and Body,“ “My Future Is Too Bright for Drugs,“ “Superheroes Don’t Do Drugs“ and “Falcons are Proud to be Drug-Free.“ Each day, they wore, respectively, fancy outfits, workout clothes, sunglasses and bright colors, superhero outfits and Fitch Falcons gear.
Havaich said she wanted to bring back Red Ribbon Week because the teachers and students see the effects of the opioid crisis. She explained that students will tell their parents that they need to dress for school and the parents will ask why, which will hopefully lead to a constructive family talk about drugs.
Havaich and Callahan tied the week in with making healthy choices, so the school had discussions on healthy exercise on Tuesday, the day the students dressed in exercise clothes. Callahan sent out videos to the classrooms each day to talk about staying drug-free and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.