Wakefield High School Student of the Month November 2018

Feb/March 2018

DIATEP Training: In early February, five Administrators & Nurses from Wakefield Public Schools attended this training at Reading High School, sponsored by the regional Substance Abuse Prevention grant.  This training, provides Admin and nurses the tools to properly screen students who are suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs (including Rx not prescribed to them).  The second day of the training was designed for nurses to assess vital signs and other physiological and psychological signs of impairment.

Galvin Family Feud On February 15 th , the Galvin Youth Action Team hosted their 3 rd Annual Family Feud.  Over 20 Youth Action Team members were responsible for planning, promoting, and running this event which drew over 160 participants & audience members.  This is not only a fun event, but helps recruit future Youth Action Team members!

5 th Annual Parent University: Well over 200 parents and caregivers were in attendance at the event on March 10, 2018.  Keynote, Carrie Stack, was well received and parents appreciated hearing her messages regarding positive framework & growth mindset.  Popular workshops included Parenting Communication Skills, Growth Mindset- The Brain is a Muscle that Grows, and Understanding Anxiety. Catherine, Officer Jay, & Officer Kelley lead a workshop entitled Risky Business: Vaping, Edibles & other current trends and how talk to your tween/teen.

Spring Sports Orientation: On March 26 th Brendan Kent invited parents and athletes to the spring sports orientation.  Parents & athletes heard from Mr. Kent, Maureen Buzby, and Officer Jason Skillings about the dangers of vaping, chewing tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and consequences for athletes.

Lynn Lyons, LICSW Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: Strategies to Interrupt the Worry Cycle On March 27 th over 700 parents, educators, and adults came out to the Galvin Middle School.  Prior to Lynn Lyon's talk, a representative from William James College Interface gave an overview of the free Referral Service available to all Wakefield residents & students.  Wake-Up partnered with the Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield SEPAC, Beebe Library, Canterbury, North Suburban Family Network to bring Lynn to Wakefield.

April 2018

April 28 th Rx Take Back Successful event, 299.3 lbs total of unused medications! Two locations this year, Public Safety Building & Walgreens filled one large box on Saturday.  Both drop locations had a great turnout!

May 2018

May 2 nd Treatment/Recovery and Narcan Training event at Americal, 6:30p-8p. Several providers participated in this event organized by the Wakefield Police Department, Wake Up, and Eliot Community Services.  A great opportunity to network and get a better understanding of local treatment & recovery services.

May 15 th Wake-Up Annual Breakfast over 65 people were in attendance at the Annual Wake Up meeting.  Youth Action Team members presented highlights from their year.  Jill Charie & Donna Macdonald highlighted some of the coalition's new projects and talked about the year ahead. Newly appointed Superintendent of Schools Doug Lyons gave the keynote.   Representative Donald Wong was given the Community Award, for his commitment to ensuring funds to address the Opioid Epidemic. Our Youth Action Team Leaders presented WMHS teacher, Jimmy Martin with the first annual Trusted Adult Award.  Finally, graduating YAT Leaders Kaia Cairoli, Jared Hurley, Tommy Lucey, and Kaitlyn Murphy were thanked for their years of service to the coalition.

May 17 th New Resident Open House Wake-Up was on hand to communicate mental health and substance use disorder services to new residents.

May 30 th 1 st Annual WMHS Senior Night Wake-Up was proud to help organize and support this safe, substance free post-prom celebration for graduating seniors.  Over 90% of the Senior Class participated in the all-night party at Dave and Busters. WMHS Committee successfully secured over $35,000 in donations & prizes to help make the event a success.  For more information visit: www.wakefieldseniornight.com

July 2018

July 17 th Annual Wake Up Planning Retreat Over 20 Coalition members turned out for Wake-Up's 2018-2019 Planning Retreat.  The session was facilitated by Emily Bhargava, an independent consultant who helped the coalition identify priority areas, select strategies, and assign next steps to move initiatives forward.

July 19 th DA Middlesex Opioid Task Force Presentation on Interface , include WMHS Assistant Principal Gerrilyn Trafficante who talked about how the Wakefield Public Schools utilize the referral service. Wakefield's most recent Interface Report showed that 60 individuals from Wakefield used the service over the past 6 months, a 36% increase from the previous reporting period.

August 2018

August 8 th & 15 th ATOD Coaches Info Video filmed WMHS Athletic, Health, & Wellness Director Brendan Kent & a few varsity coaches filmed an informational video for coaches on how to talk to student-athletes about ATOD use.  Video will be shown to all WMHS coaches and Wakefield youth sports coaches who work with students in grades 7 & 8. View video here: https://youtu.be/A6TAEsnNCI0

September 2018

Recovery Month Vigil (Sept.19 th ) Voices for Recovery and Remembrance event was held on the Stoneham Town Common. Individuals from Mystic Valley regional communities, including Wakefield, turned out for this annual event. Speakers included individuals in recovery. A candlelight remembrance walk and vigil was held for those who have been lost. Resource tables were available.

October 2018

Wakefield Public Schools Professional Development (October 17 th ) Catherine, Officer Kelley and Officer Jay led a two-hour professional development training for 40 Galvin and WMHS faculty. The training focused on substance use and social-emotional qualitative data from the YRBS and current trends in Wakefield. Training evaluations demonstrated that information was relevant, helpful, and provided useful information.

DA's Presentation (October 18 th ) Catherine and Kara presented to DA Marian Ryan's regional Opioid Prevention taskforce on effective parent education and peer to peer strategies Wakefield has utilized for Substance Use and Mental Health education.

Rx Take Back (October 27 th ) Successful event! Wakefield turned in 265.6 lbs of unused prescription and over -the-counter medications to the incinerator.

November 2018

"In Plain Sight" November 7 th (8:00am & 5:30pm) & November 8 th (8:00am & 5:30pm) @ Town Hall AND WMHS Cafeteria November 29 th 6pm-8:00pm, Over 125 parents, caregivers, and community members visited the open house. Each visitor learned about current substance use trends & local data as well as high-risk social-emotional warning signs and strategies parents can use to help their adolescents. Visitors also toured a teen bedroom and learned strategies teens utilize to hide substance use or other risky behaviors.

December 2018

Winter Sports Parent Night Maureen Buzby spoke to parents/caregivers of WMHS winter sports athletes about the dangers and newest trends with vaping and Dabbing THC.

Wakefield High School Student of the Month November 2018

Source: https://wakefieldwakeup.org/accomplishments-2018/

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