Towamensing students celebrate ‘Red Ribbon Week’

From wacky hair to dressing like a teacher, Towamensing Elementary students are doing their best this week to show their peers you can have a ton of fun without doing drugs.

The school, along with many others across the country, are celebrating “Red Ribbon Week,” a nationwide campaign embracing healthy choices and drug, tobacco and alcohol use prevention.

“Seeing all the kids having fun with some of the things we’ve been doing has really been rewarding,” said sixth-grader Dillon Borger, a Towamensing student council member. “There have been some crazy outfits today for wacky outfit and hair day. You can hear a lot of excitement in the halls.”

Each day this week has had a theme. On Monday, students were asked to wear red, Tuesday was wacky hair and outfit day, Wednesday was Superhero day, and Thursday was dress like a teacher day.

“Student council takes a vote on what the theme will be each day,” said Autumn Green and Bradyn Newhard, sixth grade students and student council members. “We ask the different classrooms for ideas and then come up with the final themes. I’m excited to see what students come up with for Superhero day on Wednesday.”

Everything culminates Friday with Towamensing’s fall festival, which includes the annual Halloween parade in the parking lot.

“Some kids have been talking for weeks about what they are going to be,” Madeleine Rakos, sixth-grader and student council member, said. “They start planning way in advance of the parade.”

The Red Ribbon Campaign started nationwide in 1985 in response to the murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique Camarena. Angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction caused by drugs in America.

Taylor Eckhart, sixth-grader and student council member, credited Towamensing’s student council advisers, Jodi Kocher and Stacey Olewine, with their oversight in helping the group make it a week to remember.

“My hope is that this message of living a drug-free life goes beyond Towamensing,” Eckhart. “We hope other schools and other students see the impact Red Ribbon Week has here and that it takes off nationwide.”

In conjunction with Red Ribbon Week activities, Towamensing’s student council is collecting items for the Palmerton Cat Project.

“We’ve really had a great start to the week for donations and we get more coming in each day, whether it’s cat toys, litter, food, blankets or whatever it may be,” said Hadlee Lake, sixth-grader and student council member. “It’s great that not only can we have these wonderful activities to get students thinking about all of the things they can be doing other than drugs, we can also support a great cause in our community.”