Over the course of the academic year, Manhasset CASA works with parents, students and the community to host student and parent educational programs addressing the prevention of youth substance use and the physical, social and emotional wellness of our children. All outreach is in collaboration with Manhasset Public Schools, Manhasset School Community Association (SCA), the Manhasset Public Library, and many partners across the community.
Manhasset CASA and the Manhasset School Community Association (SCA) collaborate annually to bring Red Ribbon Week, our nation’s largest and oldest drug prevention campaign, to the Manhasset school community. The red ribbon is a symbol of our commitment to the education, understanding and prevention of substance abuse.
With the support of the Honorable Jack M. Martins and the Manhasset Public Library, CASA hosts Active Parenting every fall for parents of elementary and high school youth. Active Parenting is a three part evidence based parent education program featuring presenters from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. The video-based parent education program provides new parenting skills in communication, problem solving and conflict resolution. The series seeks to help parents communicate effectively with children and teens, understand their goals to avoid power struggles, provide them with tools to behave in a responsible way as well as reduce the risks of the t(w)een years, including alcohol, drugs, sexuality and violence.
Working with Manhasset High School’s CASA Youth Club and Key Club and administration, CASA implements student education programming 3 times a year to address key issues affected t(w)eens as they are navigating the secondary school: internet safety, underage and binge drinking prevention, drunk driving, texting and driving.
Teens from Manhasset CASA’s Youth Club join forces annually with the Manhasset High School Art Honor Society and Key Club to promote National Alcohol and Drug Facts Week (NDFW). The week-long health observance, organized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), takes place the last week in January and celebrates the inquisitive minds of teens and provides youth collaboration to shatter the myths about alcohol and drugs as well as their impact on the developing teen brain.
The Power of Parenting Series is a community collaboration to strengthen families and help children grow up to be healthy and safe. The series is also sponsored by the Honorable Jack M. Martins, Manhasset Public Library, and Manhasset CASA in an effort to provide parents & caregivers with the skills, insight, and knowledge they need to raise healthy and responsible youth in today’s world.
Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism against tobacco use to empower youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco. In celebration, Manhasset CASA’s Youth Club visits Science 7 classrooms to educate students about the dangers of tobacco and e-cigarettes (click here for PowerPoint Presentation). The youth initiative is part of over 1,000 events planned across the United States and the world.
Collaborating with the Manhasset Middle School Physical Education Department, Molloy College’s Nursing Program, Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island, the Manhasset SCA and Manhasset CASA’s Youth Committee, Manhasset Secondary School celebrates healthy living during its annual Health and Wellness Week celebration. Students participate in an educational fair as well as physical education programming reinforcing the importance of exercise and healthy choices.
As part of Manhasset CASA’s and Manhasset High School’s commitment to the health, safety and education of students as they move beyond high school, many to college campuses where high risk drinking, sexual assault and adjustment issues are so prevalent, College 101 Day is held annually in June for all graduating seniors. Students rotate through three programs: The Red Watch Band Alcohol Emergency Response Program, taught by qualified MHS faculty, a Sexual Assault Prevention Program, run by the Safe Center of Long Island, and an djustment/Transition to Freshman Year Program by Adelphi University Faculty. The CASA and the SCA provide the senior class with a pizza lunch. The district administration, faculty, CASA, and the SCA, make the coordination and implementation of this program possible.
Manhasset CASA provides parent networking through its CASA Coffees which are held three times during the year. These grass roots parent socials begin with local psychologists and social workers discussing issues regarding underage drinking and teen substance use, parent communication as well as how parents can work together to combat youth risk behaviors and reinforce an environment where teens have more opportunity to make healthy choices. The coffees empower parents through local networking and help them to develop reasonable shared guidelines regarding curfews and age-appropriate social activities. Parents also learn about each other’s rules and effectively squelching teen claims that everyone else is doing it.
