Monday, November 5, 2018 What’s Your Anti-Drug?

Monday, November 5, 2018What’s YourAnti-Drug?My anti-drug is balletMina LinMontague SchoolMajority Rules.Most kids don’t use drugs.Most of us have something in our lives that’s important enough to stand between us and drugs.As these pages show, we are making good choices — great choices — for ourselves.Featured here are many of the personal “anti-drugs” that we really care about and that we want to share with each other.Helping young smiles to GROW HEALTHYFor: Infants Children Adolescents Special NeedsNewton-Sparta Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics Dr. Mike Lateiner, DMD, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Bernadette Lapena, DDS, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Jennie Lee, DDS, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Veronica Choi, DDS, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Bernard Barrish, DMD, Orthodontist Dr. Kevin Lehnes, DMD, Orthodontist Dr. Blair Sittmann, DDS, Orthodontist11 Lawrence Road, Newton, NJ 973-300-0002 www.drmikedmd.com(Off Newton-Sparta Rd. across from the Andover Twp. Municipal Bldg.)At Newton-SpartaPediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics,we are dedicated to providingcomfortable care for yourchild’s teeth!

Page 2 Monday, November 5, 2018This is the 18th “What’s Your Anti-Drug” (WYAD)supplement that the New Jersey Herald and theCoalition for Healthy and Safe Communities, aprogram of Center for Prevention and Counseling,have partnered on. This year over 800 SussexCounty students in grades K-12th submitted anentry to the annual WYAD Contest.The “What’s Your Anti-Drug” message and theopportunity to share something important to themreally appeals to youth. The message’s simplicityis deceiving, because “anti-drugs” are powerfulmotivators. Whether the “anti-drug” is an internalfactor, like a desire to succeed, or external, likefamily support, it both generates and is supportedby feelings of confidence, success andself-respect that drive the student to take care ofher or himself emotionally and physically. Thecontest is an opportunity to strengthen an important bond, activity or belief in an adolescent’s lifethat helps him or her stay alcohol and other drugfree.We are thrilled to be able to give Sussex Countyyouth an opportunity to share their “anti-drug”with others through this amazing supplement! Besure to pick up the New Jersey Herald regularlyas entries will be featured throughout the year inthe school section of the paper.WHAT’S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? New Jersey Herald njherald.comThank you!Celebrating ADrug-Free MajoritySussex County Coalitionfor Healthy and SafeCommunities would liketo thank our sponsors!This section is a special tribute to young peopleright here where we live, neighbors, friends, andclassmates. Kids who, like most young people inAmerica, don’t use drugs because they know thatdrugs can only get in their way of where they wantto go, what they want to do, who they want to be.They have something more important in their livesthan doing drugs, and they’re proud of it.It’s cool, it’s healthy, and it’s an important part ofwho they are.Sussex County PALVernon PALSparta PALMaybe you’ll see someone you know in thesepages. Maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter.What does matter is that we continue to makeour community the kind of place where youngpeople speak openly and honestly with theirfamilies, teachers, coaches, religious leaders andwith each other. The kind of community wheresomeday it may be unnecessary to ask“What’s Your Anti-Drug?”Sussex County MunicipalAlliance, GCADAThe percentage of Sussex County studentswho have ever tried alcohol has decreased inalmost every grade since 2006.Past 12-month use of marijuana among8th to 12th grade Sussex County studentsdecreased 17.3% since 2012!— Center for Prevention and Counseling2017 countywide PRIDE survey for the 2017-2018 school year.www.parentadvicenj.orgA program of The Center61 Spring Street, Newton, NJ 07860973-383-4787NIEHelping ChildrenLearn.

New Jersey Herald njherald.comWHAT’S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? Monday, November 5, 2018 Page 3MAJORITY RULES . What’s Your Anti-Drug?PianoWalter MentoneScienceLounsberry Hollow SchoolSophia VigilettiGlen Meadow Middle SchoolWatching the SunsetTeagan WisinskiFredon Township SchoolFamilySebastian OrricoMarian E. McKeownElementary SchoolSnowboardingSwimmingTrackRylee KeenanLounsberry Hollow SchoolSadie BrandFredon Township SchoolSadie BiondoRidingOgdensburg SchoolMy Anti-Drug Is:My family is my anti-drug. This is because myfamily is amazing. They can make anything we do,no matter how boring it could be, fun. For example,when we went to Canada. We drove to Canada,and from here and back, it was a 12-hour drive,without traffic included. This could have been veryannoying. We could have fought the whole ride. Wecould have complained the whole time. We didn’tdo that though. Throughout all 12 hours, my familyand I played games, sang songs, and told stories. We used this time to bond and become evencloser.Another example of my family being my anti-drugis them supporting me. My family comes to all ofthings I do, like when I was in the play “The Wizardof Oz”. This play was done three times, and allthree times my family showed up. This is importantto me because this was most likely very boring.I also don’t think other families would do that foreach other.My last example of my family being great is themtaking care of me. My mom makes me tea andsoup. My dad gets me medicine that I need. Also,my brothers joke with me and make me feel better.I appreciate all of this so much because withoutthem, I probably couldn’t get better.I love my family and thank them for everythingthey do. They make everything we do fun. Theysupport me no matter what I am doing. They takecare of me. My family is my anti-drug.Amira AbdallahValley Road SchoolNicolette OcchifintoNewton High SchoolRiding My Mini BikePercy Van EkSussex Christian SchoolBalletKarateKiernan MooreHelen Morgan SchoolMina LinMontague Elementary SchoolArtMalaki ThomasHamburg SchoolPhotographyFiona KennedyGlen Meadow Middle SchoolVaping can expose the lungs to a variety of chemicals, including those added toe-liquids, and other chemicals produced during the heating/vaporizing process.— National Institute on Health, 2018

Page 4 Monday, November 5, 2018WHAT’S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? New Jersey Herald njherald.comMAJORITY RULES . What’s Your Anti-Drug?FamilyLarissa LombardoFrankford SchoolCampingJamie DrepsTravelDayna AlemyFranklin Borough SchoolLounsberry Hollow SchoolNatureRayna ButlerKittatinny RegionalHigh SchoolBowlingKyle LubanskiSussex Middle SchoolBoy ScoutsTrackDifferent HobbiesGoalieKaylee HrehorovichHardyston Elementary SchoolKlaus HarthausWantage Elementary SchoolLogan BrownHudson Maxim SchoolDaniel LovettGlen Meadow Middle SchoolFishingKaylee FreeLounsberry Hollow SchoolMy Anti-Drug Is:I stay drug-free by taking pictures of beaches, thesky and trees and animals. Seeingdifferent types of beaches with different color of waters and sceneries of trees and animals of differentnatures is amazing. To stay drug free, you have tohave strong will power not to try it. And not let anyone pressure you to do anything you do not want todo. Saying No Drugs! Enclosed a picture of a beachfrom December that was so beautiful and peacefulas I watched and listened to the waves slowly breakand remind me of how important life is being soprecious to let any drug get in the way of life. We live for each day and only get one chance let’s makeit drug free.Nicholas DaSilvaHardyston Middle School

New Jersey Herald njherald.comWHAT’S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? Monday, November 5, 2018 Page 5MAJORITY RULES . What’s Your Anti-Drug?My SisterFutureKathryn BrunkeHamburg SchoolActingKalle YoungLong Pond SchoolIly CulpepperCedar Mountain Primary SchoolMy Anti-Drug Is:My anti-drug is definitely my softball team.They motivate me to be myself and work hard.We recently won the championship and thatmotivated me more than ever. They reallyare like my second family. If someone else isgoing through something the whole team isgoing through that together. We pushed ourselves every day to get to the championship.Practices and games every week. It soundsmiserable, but it really wasn’t because wewere in it together. We pushed ourselves todo better. It got extremely hard sometimes butthat didn’t stop us. We motivated each otherto get better and keep moving forward. Wehave been a softball team together for yearsnow, but I feel like this year really brought ustogether. Winning was great but I don’t thinkthat was what brought us together. It was thatwe worked hard and pushed each other towin. Winning was just the icing on the cake! Itwas the little things that brought us together.Dancing to music during practice and beforethe games. Sliding in the dirt after our wins.Doing our team handshake whenever we got achance. The “FAMILY ON 3!” after every game.The small things that made us smile even inthe hardest practices or games. Everythingcombined is the whole reason I broke downin tears when we won the championship. Mysoftball team is my anti-drug and I am proud tocall them my family.Rachel CollinsHamburg SchoolFutureGianna EzzoSussex County Charter SchoolFrogsNathan HayzlerClifton E. Lawrence SchoolClimbing Grant PiontkowskiFrankford SchoolPodcastEmily Serio/Samara IbrahimHopatcong Middle SchoolMy Anti-Drug Is:Video GamesBrayden DabrowskiLong Pond SchoolMy anti-drug is basketball. I always choose toplay instead of getting involved with illegal substances. I have known people who have diedand gotten their lives destroyed by drugs so Iwill never even think about it. Basketball is myfavorite thing in the world and it is very calmingthe way things work with the plays. Playing withfriends is a lot of fun and a great way to getexercise. All in all, that’s why I love basketball.James WeisbeckSparta Middle School

Page 6 Monday, November 5, 2018WHAT’S YOUR ANTI-DRUG? New Jersey Herald njherald.comMAJORITY RULES . What’s Your Anti-Drug?My Anti-Drug Is:My Anti-Drug is playing Fortnite because it keeps me out of trouble.Where I live the kids always ask me if I want to vape and smoke withthem. I stay away from smoking. I play basketball in the front of myhouse, or play video games with my friends. When I was younger Iwent to the park with all of my friends to play basketball but when Igot older kids were asking me to smoke with them. I would alwayssay no to them and they would keep going on with it and I kept sayingno. I finally got annoyed and stopped hanging out with them. Mylife has been much better without being around those kids. I thinkplaying video games is 100% better for our lungs but I also think it’snot because sitting on video games is not healthy. Going outside ishealthy, so it’s good to take a break off the games. But now sinceFortnite came out that’s what holds me inside. If kids ask if you wantto smoke, do not say yes because they’re smoking. If you see someone doing something they should not be doing, tell an adult.Elijah SanchezSussex County Charter SchoolWrestlingConnor HannaKittatiny Regional High SchoolMy StoryEmily SmithWantage Elementary SchoolGolden RetrieversRead and DanceEmily ValleChloe DeBontaGlen Meadow Middle SchoolRolling Hills Primary SchoolDifferent HobbiesBrielle LessardAlpine SchoolGoing to the ZooCarter ClausonValley Road SchoolListening to MusicKatie O’KeefeFredon Township SchoolCounty high school students were featured on lawn signs that encouragedparents to set clear rules and expectations when it comes to their childrendrinking alcohol.