4/28/16 Organize CAS expo with Cassie and Callie

Today Cassie and Callie came over so that we could put together our presentation. They brought the poster board with the mountain painted on it. We worked together cutting out pictures and facts and pasting them on the board. We also discussed how we wanted to set up the board, Cassie and Callie agreed that they would get balloons and little decorative paper weights to put on the table. I was in charge of getting the cupcake mixes and frosting ingredients that they would bake and decorate on Wednesday. I also contacted Leigh that Friday and asked if we could have the table cloth from neural activity and she also offered to give us some t-shirts and bags that we could give away to people that come to our booth. I am really excited for the CAS expo tomorrow! The poster turned out amazing and I think that our whole booth will be very visually appealing.

2/17/16 West Middle School Prescription Drug Lesson

Today I my last presentation at West Middle School to present my final prescription drug lesson. Again when I walked in there were only three kids that showed up. Leigh (the Live Above Coordinator) warned me that these kids were a bit more wild and harder to control then the kids at the other schools. I showed them the first video and all of a sudden two of the three kids started crying because the video is somewhat emotional. However, I have never done a presentation where the students started crying. This was shocking for me because I didn't know how to comfort them and that I have never seen someone that impacted from a presentation. But now looking back maybe that is the reaction we need when kids watch this video, the video pulls at their emotions which makes them realize the severe impacts of prescription drug abuse. Leigh Fitch told me that the one little boy who was crying has parents and family members who abused prescription drug abuse. He was able to relate to the pain, which not many students were able to. This being my last presentation, I could see the culture change between the schools. Students at West had more of an experience and were able to relate to the lesson more so then the students at Grand Mesa or Mount Garfield. However, those are automatic judgments that I made based on the kids's reaction to the lesson.All though the turnout was very small at all these middle schools, we were able to get our message across to the teenagers which we were not able to get across at our event we put on at Palisade High School.

2/9/16 Grand Mesa Middle School Presentation

Today I had another presentation about the risks behind prescription drug abuse at Grand Mesa Middle School. I wasn't nervous because I had already presented to the Mount Garfield students. When I walked in there were only three kids one boy and two girls. Again I was disappointed with the small turnout, but I really do think by making these kids realize the negative effects they can advise their peers. All of the students were interested in the video, they asked questions about drugs that their family members take or that they take. Hearing these kids share their stories made it obvious that there are prescription drugs out there and they are easily accessible.

2/4/16 Middle School Presentation at Mount Garfield Middle School

Today I did a presentation to Mount Garfield Middle School about the risks behind prescription drug abuse and the negative effects on the brain. This lesson reached out to the students which we weren't able to accomplish through our presentation from Colter Church. I went in a bit nervous about the presentation, but during the presentation I found that the students had a genuine interest in what I was discussing. They were intrigued with the videos and were shocked that there are more deaths from prescription drug abuse then there is from drinking and driving.The only part of the presentation that was disappointing was again the turnout. There were only four kids that came to the presentation. I hope that they got something out of it that they can share with their friends. When we were discussing the problems with marijuana one of the kids mentioned that their father smokes marijuana. This was a difficult thing to address because I didn't want to offend her father. I considered ethical implications by thinking is it right for me to tell her that her father is hurting is body by smoking pot? Do I really have that authority to say what is right and wrong? On one hand I could tell her the facts that marijuana increases dopamine in the brain, and eventually he will become less interested in what he loves to do, however this could embarrass her. On the other hand I could ignore the question and try to get on a different subject but does that look like I am promoting marijuana use by not addressing the negative effects of pot? Since marijuana use is legal and he most likely is above the age of 21 do I have the authority to condemn him for smoking pot? I don't know what to do, I don't want to promote marijuana use but at the same time I don't want to embarrass this girl in front of all of her peers.We will not be able to change the lifestyle of everyone, which is not the goal.

1/27/16 FINAL PRESENTATION

This evening at 6pm we had our presentation at Palisade High School. We only had six people come for the presentation, which kind of hurt. I was expecting at least 15 people or so. I think what we lacked was advertising, we should have advertised to the other schools in order to increase the turnout. All of the people that came were from Palisade, looking back at it now I think it would have been a good idea to advertise to Junction, Fruita, Central and R5. 

Even though the turnout was super small, the presentation was AMAZING. I am so happy that I contacted Colter Church for the presentation. I learned so much from his whole presentation, he talked about Marijuana, Synthetics, and Meth. Not only did he have a really in depth presentation, he also brought drug paraphernalia. I was so relieved that some of the people asked questions, so there wasn't that awkward silence when he asked if there were any questions.

All though the turnout was low I feel very relieved and confident with how the presentation turned out. If some of the people took away some of what I took from the presentation, then I would consider it successful. I think the hardest part of our CAS project was planning, it was difficult to all come to a consensus on a date that would work best for all of us. Also we procrastinated a bit at the beginning because we were all a bit overwhelmed with the school work we had. Although we were overwhelmed, January was the best month for the presentation. I am so appreciative that Detective Church came and Leigh Fitch brought t-shirts and bags to give to the audience.

Our original goal of this presentation was to inform students and parents about the drug abuse in the Grand Valley and ways to look out for signs of abuse. I think we definitely hit on informing parents because we had more parents turnout then students. I think out of the group we only had two students, so hopefully they also got something out of the presentation. Like I said before although the turnout was small I am very happy with the presentation!!!

1/11/16 Meeting with Cassie and Callie

I met with Cassie and Callie today to discuss our final plans for the presentation. Callie and Cassie contacted Leigh Fitch and she said that she would be willing to help out. She also gave the recommendation that we should have some of the Neural Activity Leaders come discuss their role in the program. That way they can tell the audience their personal stories about why they are involved and their experience with drug abuse (if they have any). We also decided that we would set the date for the presentation for January 26th at 6pm in the library. I emailed Mr. Church and he said he would be up for that. He also told me he would bring drug paraphernalia which is super exciting! Cassie and Callie created the blurbs for the presentation, one would be emailed to all of the parents and the other would be read over the announcements. At one of our Live Above the Influence meetings we gave Mrs. Marsh the blurbs so she can get the word out. Hopefully we will get a good turnout! Now the plan is just staying in touch with our guest speakers and making sure the plans run smoothly.

1/6/15 Mr. Church responded!!

It is such a relief Mr. Church responded to my email. I was so nervous that he would not get back to me but he did, and he apologized for taking awhile. He told me that the week of the 25th would work the best for him and I could contact him by email or phone call. Now the ball is officially rolling, we have the guest speaker, we know we can get the location for the presentation at Palisade. I am so excited to have him come speak to us, and have the parents and students come watch (hopefully we get a great turnout).

1/2/16 Email to Mr. Church

Today I emailed Mr. Church to ask him if he would be willing to present for us. Since we still have not came up with an exact date I thought I would give him the choice. I told him we are looking for a presenter for the week of the 18th or the week of the 25th, at 6pm. I thought by giving him the choice on the date he would be more open to helping us out. After I sent the email I was a little nervous, wondering what we would do if he did not respond.

12/14/15 Meeting with Mrs. Marsh, Cassie and Callie

Today after school we met with Mrs. Marsh to discuss our plan for the presentation. Cassie, Callie and I sat down and admitted that we were way to overwhelmed with finals to put on this presentation before Christmas Break. On top of that I didn't contact Mr. Church because I ran out of time, there would be no way he could organize a good presentation in such short notice. We decided that we cannot put of this project anymore and we will have to have it accomplished by January. Mrs. Marsh also gave the suggestion that we should have the whole presentation in the library, that way it is more intimate and people feel comfortable asking questions. Cassie and Callie also decided that they would contact Leigh Fitch the leader of Neural Activity to come speak during that night. That way we have a police officer and someone who is making a difference in the community and encouraging other students to join in. I am a little nervous that we do not have the presentation done, we keep putting it off because we are all a bit overwhelmed with school. However, the sooner we get it done the better I will feel about it. But this presentation cannot be put together without any planning, the more planning the smoother it will run.

11/19/15 Meeting during lunch with Cassie and Callie

Today Cassie, Callie and I met at lunch to discuss our plans for the presentation. The night before my mom told me about a presentation she had with the city. A guy named Colter Church came to talk to the city workers to discuss what it's like working in the police department and dealing with drug busts. My mom said he was so interesting and would be a good guest speaker to have. Since we did not contact the counselor or the police officer from the Juvenal Center Cassie and Callie thought Mr. Church would be a good speaker to look into. I told them I would take responsibility and contact him with what we had in mind. I will contact him as soon as I can so we can put on the presentation before Christmas Break. I feel confident that he will be a great speaker who will have a very interesting speech for the students and parents.

10/2/15 Meeting with Cassie and Callie

Cassie, Callie and I met to discuss a date for our presentation. We met at Main Street Bagels to discuss when we want to get the presentation done. We decided we wanted to get the meeting done before Christmas Break. We also discussed the guest speakers we had in mind for the presentation. Hannah Carver gave us a contact from the Juvenal Center who had experience with students who dealt with drug abuse. We also got a contact from Kierra Hall, she gave us the contact of a counselor who deals with students experiencing drug abuse. We decided we would put on the presentation in the auditorium and have both the counselor and the officer talk to the parents and students. The counselor could give information to the parents and the officer could provide information for the students. 

I still firmly believe that our presentation will be successful. Recently I read an article about the drug abuse in Europe, after visiting I was curious about the blue lights in train station. In Switzerland they have a big heroin problem so to prevent people from shooting up they created blue lights to that they can not see their veins. I don't think we have a huge heroin problem in the United States but I do think we have a problem with marijuana use in teenagers. Hopefully our presentation will be able to convey the importance of living a drug free life to the parents and the students.