Red Ribbon Week
By: Marla M
During October, many schoolchildren across the U.S. took part in National Red Ribbon Week activities. The red ribbon symbolizes an anti-drug effort started after the 1985 torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena by drug warlords.
Valley participated in Red Ribbon Week from Tuesday, Oct. 21 through Friday, Oct. 24. Due to parent/teacher conferences and Halloween falling on a Friday, Valley chose to celebrate a few days earlier than the actual starting date Thursday, Oct. 23.
During Red Ribbon week, students, teachers, and community leaders wore ribbons to show their commitment to help create a drug-free America. Many schools encouraged the wearing of red clothing, while students spent the week studying about the dangers and effects of drugs and learning to choose alternatives for healthy, productive lives.
At Valley, S.O.D.A (Students Ok without Drugs and Alcohol) held a classroom door decorating contest with one of the Red Ribbon Week themes. The doors were judged by S.O.D.A members on Tuesday morning. Ms. Leonard’s 5th grade class won the contest with the theme of Sock-It to Drugs.
The elementary does not usually get the opportunity to dress up the week of homecoming, but during Red Ribbon Week, students may participate and dress up on different days that match the theme. Tuesday’s theme was Turn Your Back on Drugs, where students wore their clothes backwards. Wednesday was Sock-It to Drugs, where they got to wear slippers or socks all day long. On Thursday, students wore sweats to the theme of Living Drug Free is No Sweat. Friday’s theme was Wear Red Day, and the students wore as much red as they could.
Another fun contest was also held on Friday to see which class could wear the most red. There were seven winners: Mrs. Boehm’s kindergarten class, Mrs. Hart’s first grade class, Mrs. Wirtz’s second grade class, Mrs. Weber’s third grade class, Mrs. Lau’s fourth grade class, Mrs. Harless’s fifth grade class, and Mrs. Rich’s sixth grade class.
Red Ribbon Week has been a tradition at Valley for years, and continues to be a positive influence on the students as well as the community.