Substance Abuse Prevention Articles from MAUMS Newsletters

Spring 2020 is still fresh in our minds: COVID-19 entered our lives & schools and MAUMS had to close for in-person teaching to keep everyone safe. The Student Support Team at MAUMS decided to publish newsletters for students/ families to provide social emotional support and food resource. As Prevention Coordinator I wrote for example articles about Substance Abuse Prevention (see below).
To get access to the complete newsletters go to MAUMS homepage: https://maums.svsu.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1743609&type=d&pREC_ID=1922900.

With our newsletters we hope to stay in touch with the MAUMS community and support you as much as we can. This will continue during the 2020-2021 school year.

April 24 2020: a) Healthy ways of Coping with the Pandemic b) Being a Good Role Model

Greetings from the Prevention Coordinator

Hello everyone, this is Ms. Cooijmans.

I miss seeing you at the Project Alert lessons, Youth Leadership Group meetings and/or in our small meet-ups. I hope everyone is healthy and slowly getting used to this difficult situation. This can be a very unsettling time for everyone in the fam Tackling Obstacles

ily and we all have to work hard to find a temporary "new normal" and balance. So far we have seen a lot of resilience in our school community and we are proud of you!

Healthy ways of coping with the Pandemic

It is important to keep working on healthy ways of coping with this very unusual situation we are all in. There are basic things Girl on her way to Summit

one can do that can help adjust to this “new normal”, like creating a schedule which includes regular times to go to bed and wake up, family meals, schoolwork, getting fresh air, exercise and doing things you enjoy.

Here is a helpful resource with tips for “Getting Active”:
https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/make-physical-activity-part-your-familys-routine

Being a Good Role Model as parent/ caregiver

In times of change like this it is extra important to pay attention to changes in behavior and habits of yourself and your child(ren). Especially teenagers could potentially resort to unhealthy behaviors like experimenting with substances in challenging times like this. Being a good role model and being there for your kids is even more important now than ever. ParentUPVT #1 Influence

Students and parents please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or just would like to share. I can be reached at [email protected] or at 802-447-7541 ext. 8711 (I will check the voicemail regularly).

May 12 2020: Teens & Alcohol use

Greetings from the Prevention Coordinator

Hello everyone!

I miss seeing you at school and I hope you and your families are healthy & safe.

Although you and your families are working hard to stay connected, healthy and active, there might be situations that could lead to making choices you’ll regret later, for example using alcohol.

Teens & alcohol use
Teens decide to use alcohol for several reasons www.teens.drugabuse.gov.

“Some teens want to experience new things. Others feel pressured into drinking by peers. And some are looking for a way to cope with stress or other problems. Unfortunately, drinking will only make any problems a person has already worse, not better.”

It is a myth that alcohol isn’t as harmful as other drugs. The fact is that your brain doesn’t stop growing until about age 25, and drinking can affect how it develops. Plus, alcohol increases your risk for many diseases, such as cancer. It can also cause you to have accidents and get injured, sending you to the emergency room http://bit.ly/UnderageMythFacts (SAMHSA).

Instead of experimenting with alcohol or other substances I hope you’ll make healthier choices, like participating in the Photovoice contest (collaboration of the Alliance for Community Transformations (ACT) and MAUMS) that was posted through your advisory & on MAUMS Facebook page https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRpy62bUl-XCbDrbFoH-oGbgSjRxzmHfVi5P5gOZju5UC_e8hYIKWZv33Zv-XUBcRL83nYtLfL7uwA3/pub. It challenges you to submit a photo of yourself enjoying substance-free activities and you could win a price by doing so! The submission deadline is May 15th and I can’t wait to find out who the winners are! In case you did not participate, don’t worry! Use this idea as a healthy activity for yourself: You can even share the results with friends.

Parents/ caregivers
Here is some helpful information for you:
http://parentupvt.org/how-can-i-help-my-at-risk-teen/i-think-my-teen-is-drinking-or-using-drugs/

Students and parents please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or just would like to share. I can be reached at [email protected] or you can leave me a voicemail at 802-447-7541 ext 8711 (I check my VM regularly).

June 1 2020: Teens & Marijuana use

Greetings from the Prevention Coordinator

Hello everyone!
I miss seeing you at school and I hope you and your families are healthy & safe.

Did you know...
This week I heard something in a Zoom meeting with other Prevention professionals I would like to share with you. The topic of the meeting was Teenagers & Marijuana use. One of the things that came up was that it appears that many teenagers (and their parents!) think it is safe for teenagers to use Marijuana. Unfortunately that is not true: Look at this infographic!

Parents/ caregivers
Here is some helpful information for you regarding how you can talk with your kid(s) about the risks of Marijuana use and how important your role as a parent/ caregiver is.
https://parentupvt.org/whats-at-stake/risk-for-teens/
https://parentupvt.org/how-can-i-help-prevent-it/talk-about-it/marijuana/

Students and parents please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or just would like to share. I can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 802-379-9105.

June 12 2020: a) Substance Free Ideas to kill time b) Cool ways to say "NO"

Greetings from the Prevention Coordinator

What a year…, but we made it through!

Summer Vacation (can feel long…)

Hooray: Summer vacation has started! No school/ homework; the whole day to do whatever you want. But... after a few weeks you might feel bored if you don’t have engaging things to do. Reports show that during the summer months many teens start experimenting with substances like Marijuana, Alcohol & Nicotine and with using Vapes (Read more: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH080/NSDUH080/SR080InitiationSubstanceUse2012.htm. Here are some examples of healthier ways to kill time:

Substance Free ideas to kill time
*Start a YOUTUBE channel and upload videos of things you love;
*Learn a new language. Use e.g. Duolingo (free App) or watch Tele-novellas to improve Spanish skills.
*Get Active! Getting physical exercise is fun AND gets you out of the house;
*Pursue a new hobby.

For more ideas: Check out this link: 5 Ways to Turn Up Your Summer (https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/5-ways-turn-your-summer).

Cool ways to say “NO”
It is summer vacation and you are hanging out with peers (socially distanced of course). Then someone offers you a vape, marijuana, cigarette, alcohol or another drug...You know that you don’t want to use drugs, but saying “NO” is not always easy and can feel awkward. Here are some things you can do/say in these situations (https://www.projectalert.com). Ways to Say NO

For more ideas on how to act when someone offers you substances read this: https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/just-say.

Parents/ caregivers
On an average day in June/ July, more than 11,000 12-17 yr old's start drinking alcohol, compared to 5,000 -9,000 new users per day in other months (see SAMHSA's reference above). Keep talking to your kid(s) about the risks of alcohol and other substances. You are the #1 influence (parentup.org)!

Photovoice Contest
Congratulations to all participants and 2 winners from MAUMS!

http://facebook.com/actbennington
https://tinyurl.com/yd9mwj5s

Goodbye 8th graders

Good luck in High School! And to the Incoming 7th and 8th graders : See you during Project Alert lessons and hopefully you’ll join the Youth Leadership Group!

Have a relaxing summer!
Ms. Cooijmans: [email protected]