By Benjamin Kroop
This past month, high school students from the Positive Impact Club and iASK-CAB took a trip down campus to the middle school. They visited 8th grade health classes and acted as mentors to the younger students discussing topics of substance abuse.
Student Assistance Counselor Danielle Gamar organized the program. Mentors arrived in groups of three to each health class and introduced the middle schoolers to who they were and how they are involved in our school community. They specifically spoke about drugs and alcohol, touching on several key points and reinforcing positive ideology. This program somewhat mirrors the work of the D.A.R.E project.
Their goal was to really connect with the middle schoolers and present themselves as archetypes that the young students could aim to replicate in the future.
After they finished lecturing on the negative effects of substance abuse and the dangers of addiction they engaged the middle schoolers in a fun game to test their knowledge. The mentors would have all students in the center of the classroom and ask true or false questions. The students would then relocate themselves to the side of the room which correlated with what they believed the right answer was.
Finally, to finish the session the mentors had a Q&A and offered their personal experiences. To reinforce the students, mentors made sure to tell them that they should feel safe and comfortable to speak with their counselors, teachers, parents, and others about topics of these sorts.
One mentor Allie Cloutman, 12th grade, reflected on her involvement in the program stating “I think it was very effective because we as high schoolers were able to directly interact with the middle schoolers while making them engaged with fun, hands-on activities, and allowing them to get some insight on what their high school experience might be like.”
Hopefully, more programs like this can find their way into our classrooms here at Irvington.
