The 6th annual SADD event took place at OLHMS on February 15^th.  Local high school students from H. L. Richards, Oak Lawn, Mother McAuley, and Marist visited with the middle school students about making positive, responsible choices in their lives as well as working on trust and confidence building.

Thanks to the OLHMS  PTSA, middle school students also got to experience BMX rider, Matt Wilhelm, and magician/motivational speaker, Carl “Energizer” Olson.

This whole process starts in October where high school students fill out an application for "Teen Director". Out of all the applicants, two teen directors are selected through an interview process to put the event together. This includes leading the training sessions of approximately 30-50 teens, planning the activities, choosing a theme (i.e., bullying, substance abuse, self-image, etc.) and designing the event t-shirt.

Once the teen directors are selected, applications are sent out again to the high schools for "Teen Staff" positions. These are the students who will be working directly with the middle school students within their classroom. Teen Staff attend all training sessions and learn the activities and topics of discussion.

This event turns out to be a 'win-win' for all involved. It gives our students the opportunity to see high school students in a positive roll and it gives our local high school students a strong leadership opportunity.

Written by:  Ms. Kathleen Stangel, School Counselor