Red Ribbon Week for the Sag Harbor School District is a long-time tradition embedded in teaching students about healthier life choices. Every year, Pierson Middle School students go above and beyond to explore workshops on various topics and hear from various leaders on the importance of living drug-free and prioritizing a healthy lifestyle.
This year, the middle school students met with Thomas Gardella, mayor of Sag Harbor, to discuss the village proclamation for Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week, which is one of the nation’s largest drug prevention awareness programs, is celebrated the last week of October and the theme for this year was “be kind to your mind.”
For the entire week, students engaged in thematic days filled with workshops and fun opportunities to dress up. From Monday’s Sock it to Drugs and Bullying where students could wear crazy socks, to Wednesday’s Peace out to Drugs, a tie-dye-themed day, the students had various ways to show their support of living a drug-free life.
Class discussions on different techniques to live a healthier lifestyle, such as paying attention to what one puts in their body and how this affects how one functions and performs, as well as the lasting effects drugs can have on the brain, were common topics. In further support of these lessons, the middle school students decorated their classroom doors for all to see.