Last Updated: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 9:31 AM CDT
Your School : Forest County eighth graders to attend Making Healthy Choices Conference
Students in Forest County have many opportunities to get help to make healthy decisions, and one major event for all eighth graders is the Making Healthy Choices Conference held in the fall at Indian Springs Conference Center. The purpose of the conference is to help youth increase their awareness of health issues and develop skills to make healthy choices regarding social and sexual issues that place adolescents at risk.
On October 30, students from Crandon, Laona, Wabeno and Goodman-Armstrong Creek schools will attend the 12th Annual Conference for a day of fun, activities and the opportunity to learn skills to help make healthy choices in several areas that are relevant to their life now and in the future.
The morning will open with a welcome by John Neilitz, conference coordinator. The days activities will be explained. A special event called Mystery HIV Activity will provide the students with an idea of the far-reaching results of promiscuous behavior and how HIV could be easily passed from one partner to another. After that, Natalie Wetzel-Rasmussen, licensed professional counselor, will address the eighth grade experience, which includes a certain right of passage where students begin to incorporate their dreams from childhood into the possibilities of the future as they prepare for the challenge of high school, as well as begin to glimpse the opportunity for personal fulfillment in adulthood.
Students will then go to the break-out sessions that they had previously chosen. Six session choices were available and the students could attend one in the morning and a different one in the afternoon. Session choices are:
1. Junk the Junk Food: Eat Healthy with Lynn McCorkle, Nutrition Educator, with UWEX.
2. How Not to be a Victim, presented by Forest County Sheriff's Department. The department will inform students about how to be aware of their surrounding when out in the community.
3. Responsible Sexuality presented by Beth Gibson, NEWCAP.
4. Alcoholism & Drug Addiction: Why such a secret? with Pat Dugan of Ministry Behavioral Health.
5. Healthy Mouth - Healthy Body, presented by Stacy Bisenius RDH from the Nicolet Medical & Dental Clinic.
6. Sexual Harassment in Schools presented by Mary Sue Engebretson. Students will compare flirting with sexual harassment to determine what actions or behaviors make up sexual harassment, and understand sexual harassment can be defined differently by different people.
Every break-out room will have adult supervision with one or two people helping with the activities or in whatever way may be needed.
During their lunch break, students' blood pressure, height and weight will be taken with Jodie Harris, RN supervising.
After the afternoon break-out sessions, a group of high school students from Stevens Point called SPASH, will present “Alice in Sexual Assault Land” - several brief skits that use nursery rhymes to present information on sexual assault and harassment. All students attend this presentation. Students then move back to a break-out room to discuss the skits with the SPASH students who presented them and complete an evaluation of the day's events.
Students will enjoy a lunch of hamburgers, fries, vegetables and juice or water prepared by the Indian Springs staff. Interacting with students from other schools is encouraged all day. Local schools provide transportation and chaperones. The event is paid for by special funding from the Forest County Social Services, C.E.S.A. 8 Transitions Services, Sokaogon Chippewa Community and the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
Questions about this event or about the Partnership for Youth organization may be directed to John Neilitz at (715) 674-6123.
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