Smart Start
Smart Start at Foothill Middle School is similar to PEP at the elementary school level. The curriculum is geared towards pre-teens entering a new stage in their lives. The 7-lesson curriculum is presented to 6th graders during their reading classes between February and April by pairs of trained facilitators.
Facilitators trained to teach PEP are certified to teach Smart Start as well. For those interested in training to become a facilitator, the classes are given by the Center for Human Development (CHD), Pleasant Hill, CA. The training begins in October or January. Training costs are paid by the Foothill PFA. Newly trained Smart Start volunteers are paired with experienced presenters.
Topics of the program for our 6th graders at Foothill:
Current information about tobacco and marijuana and their effects
Learn the basic facts about alcohol and how it can affect people
Tools to deal with peer pressure and practice by role playing
Benefits for facilitators:
Working in the classroom (rarely needed at middle school)
Learning the current drug trends
Discussing issues facing our kids
Feeling of satisfaction from helping our youth
The success of this program depends on volunteers willing to co-facilitate a class. We need approximately 20 adults who are trained or are willing to be trained by CHD. A fall training class for facilitators begins the first week of October and runs for 6 weeks. If you would like to volunteer for this program, please contact the co-chairs below.
Lisa Haynes - lisahaynes50@hotmail.com
Julie Mayer - jul_hei@msn.com
Robin Piantidosi - chicken960@sbcglobal.net
Class Schedule
SmartStart is taught during the 6th Grade Reading period. They are scheduled to start the week of January 22 and end after Spring Break. With the drop rotation schedule, reading classes are not always lock-step on the same topics from week to week. Talk with your 6th grader about what they covered in their class. If you have any questions on your 6th grader's specific schedule, you can email one of the co-chairs with the Teacher and Class Period.
Smart Start Lesson Executive Summaries
Lesson 1: Cyberworld Issues
It is impossible to think of life in today’s world without the Internet. Cyberspace offers instant communication and infinite resources for all no matter the age, location, occupation or interests. In this lesson we discuss the direct impact that someone’s online actions have on their offline life (now and in the future). We talked about their cyber-footprint and basic Internet safety and etiquette along with cyber-know-how tips.
Special note: This is the age where many kids texting on their phones, and are interested in getting their own email or Facebook accounts. As a special note, the facilitators do not get into discussions with the students over any particular social networking website. This is between you and your child. We talk about general ways of protecting yourself online.
Facebook and Twitter’s official policies state that their services are for people over the age of 13. Between the ages of 13 and 17, a parent’s authority over their child’s Facebook account is limited. Click Here to read the Facebook page. It is important that parents are savvy in their knowledge of their child’s online world. Facebook also provides a long list of websites for “online safety” here and here.
Lesson 2: Tobacco and Marijuana
This lesson reviews what students know about the short and long term effects of tobacco and marijuana and to help them understand why some people choose to use these drugs. Many students may know some of these facts already, but reviewing them is always useful. They brainstorm what they know about these drugs in small groups. Facilitators corrected any misinformation or misunderstandings about these drugs. We emphasize that addiction can happen much faster in young people than adults.
Take this opportunity to talk about these items with your child. A good start might be to ask them about the short term and long term effects of these substances.
Lesson 3: Alcohol
This lesson goes over the basic facts about alcohol and how it can affect people. Students also learn alcohol is a drug that is harmful and illegal for people under the age of 21. We talk about addiction, tolerance, withdrawal, and alcoholism.
Lesson 4: Advertising
Advertisers are capitalizing on their constant accessibility to consumers. As technology continues to advance, children continue to be inundated with information intended to encourage the purchase of items such as clothing, electronics, games, food, etc. This lesson showed the kids how tobacco and alcohol companies have gotten creative in their advertising techniques in reaching a younger audience despite the legal age limit needed to use or purchase their products (cigarettes or alcohol). This lesson goal was to make the kids more savvy consumers and not get fooled.
Lesson 5: Prescription Drugs
This lesson focuses on prescription drug and over-the-counter (OTC) drug use and abuse. The rates of non-medical use of prescription and OTC medication are high. Misuse of these medications can cause serious health effects, addiction, and death. A DVD is shown that focuses on proper use of medication, types of prescription drugs, dangerous connections, health risks and addiction. Students will learn to distinguish between proper and improper use of prescription/OTC drugs, to identify the health risks of misusing them and to identify signs of overdose and addiction.
Lesson 6: Conflict Resolution / Bullying
This SmartStart lesson gives students tools they can use to help resolve a conflict or problem they are having with a peer or friend. We discussed how to control our anger and how to express it constructively using I-Messages. We discussed how and when compromise is an effective tool and reinforced non-violent ways of resolving conflict and dealing with bullying. In dealing with bullies, we defined the RESIST acronym:
R – Relax
E – Explain how you feel
S – Stand up for yourself
I – Ignore the bully behavior
S – Support a friend (don’t be a bystander)
T – Tell a trusted adult
Sixth grade is a turning point from tweens to teens and their lives become directly impacted by their peers and the forces imparted by them. Tools for dealing with conflict and bullying will be applicable the rest of their life. Take this opportunity to discuss conflict and/or bullying situations you’ve experienced as an adult and how you’ve resolved them.
Lesson 7: Dealing with Pressure / Role Plays
In this lesson students will be able to identify where pressure comes from. They will learn three steps to understanding their position when in a pressure situation and practice using assertiveness techniques to make safe and healthy choices. We learned how to say “No” using an acronym called SPACE
S – Say No
P – Present a reason or alternative
A – Avoid the situation
C – Call on a friend
E – End it / Move on
It is important for kids to think about the pressure that they experience (particularly from peers) and have the opportunity to practice in the form of role-plays. Actively using this SPACE tool allows the students to practice their refusal skills in a safe and supportive environment.