ROHS Challenge Day May 5 & 6
Announce ROHS Challenge Day May 5 &
6
National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
May 7
On May 5th and 6th Royal Oak High School (ROHS) will participate in its third annual Challenge
Day. Since 1987, Challenge Day, organized by a non-profit organization of the same name, has inspired hundreds of thousands of youth and adults. Challenge Day is a program that is created to
"...build connection and empathy, and to fulfill our vision that every child lives in a world where they feel safe, loved, and celebrated."
Challenge Day is more than a one-day program. "It is the
spark that ignites a movement of compassion and positive change, known as the
‘Be-The-Change' movement." ROHS's ‘Be-The-Change' after-school club has
activities throughout the year to decrease students' feelings of isolation and
bullying and to foster tolerance and a welcoming atmosphere.
The ROHS ‘Be-The-Change' Club has instituted several
innovative activities:
- Teacher Affirmation Buckets - as an alternative method of communication, the
students leave positive notes for the teachers in classroom buckets; - Addressing 8th grade students regarding transitioning to high school;
- Mix It Up Day - in the lunchroom, students sit with students they don't know
rather than with their friends - Performing puppet shows for elementary students
This same program, adapted for middle school students, was
held at Royal Oak Middle School (ROMS) last fall. A ‘Be-the-Change' Club has
been active at the middle school for the past several months.
The second event is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
on May 7, 2008. Its purpose is to focus the attention of teens on the
importance of avoiding early pregnancy and parenthood.
On this day, teens nationwide are asked to go to the
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy's new teen website --
www.stayteen.org
-- and take a short, scenario-based "quiz" that asks young people
what they would do in a number of sexual situations.
This year several Royal Oak organizations and businesses are
helping to promote this event including: Common Ground Sanctuary, Royal Oak
Schools, ROHS PTSA, The YWCA, Royal Oak Youth Assistance, ROMS PTSA, Royal Oak
Community Coalition, Total Soccer and Churchill Community Education Center.
At ROMS all 8th grade parents are being informed, while at
ROHS students are involved in activities designed to spread the word to other
students. As always, parent involvement is encouraged. The web site www.teenpregnancy.org has a parent discussion guide that gives parents the tools they need to discuss this
important topic with their child.
Why a National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy? Despite a 36%
decline in the national rate of teen pregnancy since the early 1990s, 31% of
teen girls become pregnant at least once before age 20. The vast majority (82%)
of teen pregnancies are unintended. The teen birth rate also increased
slightly between 2005 and 2006 after 15 years of steady decline - clearly a
renewed focus on preventing teen pregnancy is needed.
Making a Difference: Last year over 350,000 individuals
took the online National Day Quiz. A survey of the some of the teens that
participated in the 2006 National Day indicates:
83% said the quiz made them think about what
they might do in such situations;
62% said they'd talk to their friends about the
situations described in the quiz;
63% said they'd learned something new from the
quiz about the consequences of sex; and
73% said the quiz made the risks of sex and teen
pregnancy seem more real to them.
The message of the National Day is straightforward: Sex has consequences. The online quiz (available in English and Spanish) delivers this message directly to teens and challenges
them to think carefully about what they might do "in the moment."
"The simple and direct message of the quiz is: sex is serious, have a
plan" said Sarah Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the National Campaign
to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "Our hope is that-in some modest way-the quiz helps
get through the ‘it won't happen to me' barrier."
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative supported almost entirely by
private donations. Visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org.
For further information, contact;
Clemens Wittekind
Health & Welfare Chair for the ROHS PTSA ClemensWittekind@gmail.com (877)
827-5269 or
Kathy Knapp Counselor ROHS knappk@royaloakschools.com
(248) 435-8500 x1056.