This newsletter is here to keep you informed of the happenings in our school and provide you with helpful resources. You can also keep up to date through these channels:

• District website
• Backpack flyers
• District Facebook Page

We are here to support you and your family. Please let us know if there are ways we can accomplish this. We are so excited to see what this year has in store!

Alcohol Awareness Month is a public health program organized by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence as a way of increasing outreach and education regarding the dangers of alcoholism and issues related to alcohol.

• Each year, an estimated 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually and in 2014 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 31% of overall driving fatalities (9,967 deaths). Unfortunately, these deaths could have been avoided, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

Research suggests that one of the most important factors in healthy child development is a strong, open relationship with a parent. It is important to start talking to your children about alcohol and other drugs before they are exposed to them.

• It’s Better to Talk Before Children Are Exposed to Alcohol and Other Drugs: If you talk to your kids directly and honestly, they are more likely to respect your rules and advice about alcohol and drug use. When parents talk with their children early and often about alcohol and other drugs, they can protect their children from many of the high-risk behaviors associated with using these drugs.
• The Older Kids Get, the More Likely They’ll Try Alcohol or Drugs: About 10 percent of 12-year-olds say they have tried alcohol, but by age 15, that number jumps to 50 percent. Additionally, by the time they are seniors, almost 70 percent of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an illegal drug, and more than 20 percent will have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose.4 The sooner you talk to your children about alcohol and other drugs, the greater chance you have of influencing their decisions about drinking and substance use.