By Natalie Maier
<[email protected]>

Beginning on Dec. 6, and lasting throughout the week, CHS will participate in Winter Break Awareness Week. The goal of this week, which is coordinated annually at this school, is to encourage students to make positive decisions over winter break. As that week approaches, LifeLines and the Winter Break Awareness Week Committee will work to organize several events that aim to create a safer winter break for students and the community.

“This is about encouraging students to make only good decisions over winter break and after the break. It’s kind of like Red Ribbon Week,” LifeLines sponsor Rebekah Overbey said. “We want the students to not only think of themselves when they’re making decisions, but to think of the community and their peers. They should think about making good choices and realize that these choices can impact others.”

As winter break falls over major holidays, there are more opportunities for students to make poor choices with drugs and alcohol, Overbey said.

Alec Rader, Winter Break Awareness Week Committee Head and junior said, “Obviously we want people to make good decisions over break. A big part of that is making sure no one makes a stupid decision because of drugs or alcohol.”

Fears about students making poor choices as a result of alcohol or drugs are not without reason. According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than two in three high school students reported binge drinking in September 2010. The study also shows that drinking among adults and teenagers can lead to an increased chance of car accidents, which LifeLines wants to reduce through its other programs.

Because the Winter Break Awareness Week is still weeks away, LifeLines is starting to plan the numerous events and activities that will take place within the week. In the past, the club showed a movie with an inspirational message during an SRT. Last year, among the movies LifeLines considered showing were “The Ultimate Gift” and “Just a Pinch.” The goal of showing the movie is to teach students about working together and helping others, Overbey said.

This year, LifeLines may show a movie, but members are also considering showing an episode of “The Cosby Show” in an SRT during the week, according to Rader.

Although the movie is probably the most well-known of the activities LifeLines’ puts together each year, other events are also part of the week.

Overbey said, “Banners with inspirational sayings are usually placed around the school and left up until winter break. A jar of candy was in the cafeterias, and that jar represented a statistic we were focusing on. We also tied bows around trees along the trail last year. The idea is that our students will stop and think about the choices they make and to make good decisions. These decisions, even small ones, could end up saving their lives and the lives of others. And at the end of the week last year, a true story was passed out to the faculty. It was about a teenager that made a bad choice, resulting in his brother’s death. LifeLines suggested that the teachers read this to their SRTs. We might have a trivia contest for this year.”

While there are many events over the week, Rader said he thinks the best event is the announcements and talking to students.

Over the course of the week, there are chances for students to become involved. “Students can watch the movie and the teachers might have follow-up discussion questions,” Overbey said, “With the trivia contests on the announcements, they can participate. The goal is for students to really get motivated to make good choices. A simple reaction from students would be great, but if something motivated someone to go to a food pantry, that means even more.”