Quote of the Week

This week's quote is inspired by the fact that April is National Autism Awareness Month. Our state Autism Society is hosting three Walk for Autism events today in Farmington, Bangor, and Biddeford. Come out and join in the fun if you get a chance!

One of the most fascinating people I've ever read about, listened to, or learned about is Temple Grandin. She is famous for having developed more humane ways to slaughter animals and has written several books. She also is an adult with Autism. Her ideas about animals and her revelations about what it's like to live with Autism have revolutionized both areas of study. Here is a quotation from Grandin:


Here are some links where you can find out more about Autism and programs that are available for families in the state of Maine. You can also find out more information about how volunteer in Maine and/or become a donor at this site. For national statistics and facts, see the Autism Society of America.

Book Drop Rocked!

Today is the day! After months and months of waiting, Operation Teen Book Drop is in full effect! Our school's Chick Lit Book Club raised money and purchased six young adult novels to "drop" in our local, school, and classroom libraries. Here are a couple of the chicks "dropping" their books on our library shelves. Also included is a picture of the books that we purchased. It was super fun!

Updates: Teen Dating Violence Awareness Activities

Yesterday was an awesome day. It was a Winter Carnival Day, so it could have been a little crazy and wild, but it was not. You all worked together and created some powerful products related to raising awareness about the realities of Teen Dating Violence in our school. Here's some of what you all accomplished:
These notes about the positive and negative aspects that can occur in relationships. This chart was developed first period with students in Study Skills. It helped to lead into the development and creation of about 15 Dream Flags, which were created during period 2 in Freshman English and given to Kristen Plummer of SAVES (the Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services in-school advocate) to hang in the glass corridor as part of the 300 Dreams Project (become a fan on facebook!).

Here's my flag:

Your flags are already hanging in the glass corridor of our school. I'll take some pictures of the completed project tomorrow (Friday) as that it the last day of flag creation. Ms. Plummer has said that the 300 Dream Flags are almost completed. Why 300 flags? Because 1 in 3 teens are reported to be involved in unhealthy or abusive relationships. If we were to apply this statistic to the population of our high school, that would be about 300 students. Powerful to think about.

What else did we do yesterday? Our amazing practicum teacher, Ms. Ferry lead period 1 Study Skills students in an activity where they had to "Chalk Talk" about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Here is a photo of a student responding to one of four questions:

1. Who sets a good example of a healthy relationship for you?
2. List a fact or statistic that surprised you (in your research about teen dating violence).
3. What are some words that define a healthy relationship?
4. What would you say or do is a friend or relative came to you and said that they were experiencing an unhealthy realtionship?

After an amazing discussion about the results of this Chalk Talk, Ms. Ferry went to help Ms. Plummer with the 300 Dream Flags Project. Later, we lead an in-depth discussion with the seniors about they observations and feelings of what for a healthy and an unhealthy relationship. Here's a picture of their thoughts:

Thanks to all of you for making this day so positive and for spreading the word about Teen Dating Violence. Remember what you learned today so that you and those you love do not become victims of dating violence!

Have a Heart: Help To End Teen Dating Violence

Unfortunately, young love does not run as smooth as some books and movies would have us believe. Violence and abuse can occur in relationships no matter the age of the people involved. Violent and abusive tendencies that are learned and/or experienced in the teen years can lead to some pretty serious problems.

Here is a sobering statistic:


Nearly 25% of 14-17 year-olds surveyed know at least one student who was a victim of dating
violence, while 11% know multiple victims of dating violence. 33% of teens have actually wit-
nessed such an event. Empower Program, sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc. and conducted by Knowledge Networks, Social Control, Verbal Abuse, and Violence Among Teenagers, (2000).

What's this mean? It means that even if you're not currently dating anyone or don't know of anyone who's in an abusive relationship, you might eventually. So, how can you help?

First, you can learn more about dating violence. Here are a couple of sites to explore issues related to this issue:

Teen Violence Prevention Project

Love Is Respect

The Safe Place

Second, you can participate in the Have A Heart campaign. I have the materials ready for us to make hearts in today's class. Feel free to get thoughtful and creative to show your solidarity and awareness about this important issue!

Send a Boost to a Fellow Teen

When you are down and out, remember that there are people out there who care about you. The cool and innovative folks at boostup.org have created a whole site focused on sending out positive vibes and creating awareness about the dropout rate in our country. Did you know:

-Every year, 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 6,000 a day.

-More than a quarter (25%) of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time.

-Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare.

-In the U.S., 65% of convicts are dropouts. Lack of education is one of the strongest predictors of criminal activity.

-America’s high school graduation rate ranks 19th in the world. (Forty years ago, we were number one.)

Sobering facts, huh? Well, at boostup.org, you can give a support to actual teens who are in danger of dropping out of high school. While you're there, you should explore the site and find some of your own reasons to keep going. After all, you don't want to become part of this national trend!