Schools

R-FH Students Spread Alcohol Awareness

Peer leaders spearheaded programs for peers based on nationwide campaign

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and students and faculty at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (R-FH) have taken a proactive approach to spreading awareness of the nationwide campaign to increase knowledge of the health and social issues caused by excessive consumption of alcohol.

They are participating in a number of activities designed to encourage safe and healthy choices.

On April 10, the R-FH student organization Peer Leadership Club worked with RFH faculty to present a school-wide assembly entitled Steered Straight: Under the Influence.

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Developed by the organization Steered Straight Inc., Under the Influence uses current real-life situations to demonstrate the dangers associated with the misuse and abuse of alcohol as well as five categories of illicit drugs and over-the-counter substances.

The R-FH Peer Leadership Club also visited Heather deLaszlo's eighth grade Health Class at Forrestdale School on April 12.

There, with help from their club advisor, Dr. Suzanne Fico, the R-FH students facilitated hands-on activities from the evidence-based program Life Skills: Alcohol Myths and Facts.

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The activities, including those entitled Reasons, Reasons, Reasons, The Staircase of Decisions with Drinking, and The Gray of Alcoholism, were designed to increase the awareness of the dangers of alcohol as well as alleviate anxiety related to the eighth graders' upcoming transition to high school.
 
During all health and physical education classes on April 18, the peer eaders presented their fellow students in grades 9 through 12 with information from two highly effective programs  — Brain Scans: Alcohol and the Teenage Brain and Too Much: The Extreme Dangers of Binge Drinking.

"Utilizing young people as agents for positive change improves academic outcome as well as the health and well-being of the community," Fico said.

The R-FH Peer Leadership Club is a group of students committed to inspiring positive change within the school and throughout the surrounding communities. 

Steered Straight Inc. is a non-profit organization providing motivational programs for today's youth. Based in New Jersey, Steered Straight Inc. offers programs throughout the state in addition to Eastern Pennsylvania, Northern Delaware, and New York City.


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