Last week, University Preparatory High’s (UPHS)  Leadership team designed a wonderfully fun and interactive week and rally honoring a pledge to live drug-free. The week was filled with multiple lessons warning of the dangers of substance abuse and encouraging students to dress to the theme and wear their wristbands to signify their pledge to remain drug-free. This week was created in remembrance of Special Agent “KiKi” Camerina and his sacrifice for justice when he lost his life trying to apprehend drug traffickers in Mexico.

On Monday, Students wore a jersey to show how they were teaming up against drugs. Tuesday was filled with students dressed as pairs of twins or dressed as duos to show their combined support of Red Ribbon Week. Wednesday allowed students to show off their favorite superheroes. Thursday was an eventful day, with classmates sporting their homeroom color and competing in a quick, yet exciting school rock-paper-scissors competition. And of course, many students wore red on Friday to finish the week. Many students demonstrated their creativity throughout the week, and even students not normally known to dress up were finding themselves participating.

 However, the fun did not stop there, as Leadership also planned a special Halloween-themed rally! The rally was warmed up with two performances, one being our beloved dance team dancing to “FE!N” by Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, which caused hurrahs in the crowd. Furthermore, a performance organized by David Rasner featured the song “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush sung by three individuals while Mr. Rasner plucked electronic-sounding notes on his guitar and Zenaida Guzman steadily beat a drum. The games were also a hit, with laughs and cheering filling the gym as students watched their classmates participate in the numerous games put together by Leadership. Camryn Ross, an Obo player, and friend to all said she enjoyed participating in the themes throughout the week. When asked about the rally, she expressed in the rally her enjoyment of watching the various games.  She states, “Tug-of-War is pretty interesting, you always see the people falling, and it's kind of sad but then you cheer them on” and “The Ghost Comet Ball was pretty cool, Andrew really did it well.” Overall, the feedback on Red Ribbon Week and the Red Ribbon Rally was positive, and there was a wonderful amount of participation during both events. Hopefully, this energy will carry out throughout the rest of the year and students will stay true to their pledge to stay drug-free!