O'Neill Public Schools
O'Neill Public Schools |
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HTC
Voices
of Youth
Mission
Statement: Members
of Voices of Youth will actively for promote teens to make positive choices
through awareness and community service. Goals: 1.
To organize one event each month for 2.
To begin and continue The Ambassadors 3.
To have a decision-making role in
Photo Gallery2005-20062004-2005Click on any thumbnail to see a larger picture. 2003-2004Voices of Youth Officers 2003-2004 President – Ashleigh Lewis
Click Here to See Students at The Tomorrow's Leaders Today Dear Parents, On Wednesday, March 24, O’Neill Public High School will be the host site of an innovative program entitled “Every 15 Minutes.” The program, also known as the “Grim Reaper Program,” is designed to dramatically instill in all teen-agers the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol. “Every 15 Minutes” refers to the fact that a person is killed in an alcohol-related crash every 15 minutes. While primarily targeted toward preventing alcohol-related injuries and fatalities, the program is also designed to challenge students to think about drinking, personal safety and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved. The event is being coordinated by Voices of Youth, a group at the high school committed to promoting positive choices for youth and involving themselves in community service. This group, along with North Central Community Care Partnership, have been meeting for a few months to bring this program to O’Neill. Your daughter is not aware, but he has been selected as part of a group of students who will participate in the “Every 15 Minutes” program. Please do not tell your child he has been selected. Students are chosen from a cross-section of the student body, not as an indication that they drink. Although it is not required, parent participation is an important component and is strongly encouraged. The day’s events will include the selection of a student every 15 minutes from the classroom by a person dressed as the Grim Reaper. The 15-minute time frame is important because every 15 minutes a person is killed in an alcohol-related traffic crash in the United States. Your child will be escorted to a briefing area, where students will be informed that they were selected by the school to participate in the program. At that time, students will have the opportunity to ask questions about the program or traffic deaths in general. It will be emphasized that the selection was not based on any individual behavior, and that fact will be repeated many times throughout the program. After the student is removed from the classroom, a law enforcement official will read the cause of the selected student’s death to the remaining class members, and will remain to answer any questions that students may have. The selected student will be dressed in a black t-shirt, and will not be permitted to converse with her peers for the remainder of the day. However, the student will be allowed to talk with faculty and staff, and to participate in classroom activities. An announcement listing the circumstances surrounding the student’s “death” will be posted in a prominent location in the school. The student will also be asked to write a letter to his parent(s). The letter will begin with, “Today I was killed in an alcohol related traffic crash. I never had the chance to tell you…” The letter will be turned in to program officials at the end of the school day. You are asked to write a letter to your son, with the same beginning. At the end of the day there will be a student assembly. We will have several guest speakers to address alcohol use, and students will have the opportunity to read their letter to their parent(s) if they wish. This program has been done in other schools and it is proven that it will impact not only the student body, but everyone involved. Also, while we do not anticipate any problems, we have planned for that possibility. Counselors will be present and available to speak with anyone that is having difficulty in dealing with the events throughout the day. If you feel that you would like more information before making a decision about if your child should participate, please contact Ms. Bauer. There is a video available for you to watch of the program taking place at another school. Thank you for your cooperation. We strongly believe that this program will challenge students to think about the personal safety and responsibility issues involved when deciding whether or not to consume alcohol. We also hope that the exposure given to this issue will result in prevention of alcohol-related injuries and/or fatalities. Sincerely, Members of Voices of Youth, Jennifer Bauer, Voices of Youth Sponsor and Erin Mudloff, North Central Community Care Partnership ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002-2003 A dedicated group of students at O’Neill High School, who call themselves the Buttercream Gang, want to start a Youth Leadership Group with their sponsors Denise Dennis and Jennifer Bauer. The students desire is to unite students with the community. Their hope is to have willing students in grades 9-12 do 10 hours of community service each year. When students graduate they will be honored. The group also hopes to have scholarships available to students who have volunteered. “We want the community to see the positive impact youth can make,” stated Holli Stolcpart, Buttercream Gang President. Sunday, May 5, the group cleaned up and painted the Kiddie Park. Jennifer Bauer wrote a grant that provided $210.00 for paint. The O’Neill Lions Club bought the remaining paint and brushes, Torpin’s Rodeo Market donated hotdogs and buns, McDonald’s provided drinks, and Farmer’s National brought a grill. Students planted a tree, donated by Shamrock Nursery, to symbolize the initiation of The Youth Leadership Group.
The O’Neill Public Buttercream Youth Leadership Group were provided the 2002
Youth Leadership Project Grant through the Cooperative Extension Northeast
Extension Programming Unit, as well as, a matching grant from O’Neill’s Family
Preservation Team. The group’s mission is to serve the community so people can
see teens as positive contributors to O’Neill. The group decided to host a
family reading night at the public library on April 1. Holli Stolcpart,
president of the group, stated, “We thought this project would benefit the
community because not only does it promote literacy, but also it advocates for
families to spend time together.” Ashlee Bentz added, “If children can see that
reading is important to teen youth and adults, they will value it, as well.”
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Questions or comments, please contact Jennifer Selting Bauer at jbauer@esu8.org . Pages last updated on: 12/16/2005
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