Back to School!

Good luck to all the New Jersey students heading back to school this week – and to their parents and educators!

It’s the time of year that both children and parents experience a wave of emotions, from sadness that summer has ended to nervousness at the start of a new school year.

However, this is also a time of great excitement as the new school year ushers in new friends, new challenges and new experiences in children’s lives.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey offers education and awareness resources to schools, families, and communities, and I invite you and your school district to sign up for these initiatives today. 

Sign up today for the 15 Minute Child Break and the 5th Grade Parent Alert. Both are aimed at parents, providing them vital facts and resources. Teachers/school districts click HERE to request 5th Grade parent alerts. PDFNJ is currently inviting fourth grade students to submit artwork for the 2018 Fun Things To Do Instead of Drugs Folder contest. More than 7,000 students entered last year’s Fourth Grade Folder Contest, submitting artistic prevention messages that displayed the creativity of New Jersey students. The two winners chosen during the spring will have their work displayed on folders being distributed to fourth grade classes throughout the state for the 2017-18 school year. Please encourage your school district to participate in the 4th Grade Folder Contest by clicking HERE

Of course, every school needs a music program, and PDFNJ’s efforts in schools would not be complete without New Jersey Shout Down Drugs high school music competition, which is gearing up for the 2018 school year. For the past 13 years, talented students from all over New Jersey have written original songs focusing on prevention, culminating in the annual Prevention Concert. At the end of a night filled with great performances and inspiring messages, three winners are chosen to continue to spread their message in performances during the following year.

As the opioid misuse and abuse epidemic continues to impact our state, I also encourage students, parents, school officials and any other citizen to become part of the conversation to address this issue at a Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall event, or to join the efforts of October 6th’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day.

 

I wish you all a great school year!

Blog Updates

Enter your email address and we'll send you an email each time we post something new.