Nevarmore
Ravenscroft School
Ravenscroft School
7409 Falls of Neuse Road
October 2014
Administration stresses collaboration with students for substance abuse prevention education effort to be implemented this year Emi Myers T
Editor
he Community Health Team policy, in the Student Handbook for the last 3 years, will be enacted for the first time in the 20142015 school year, said Peter Bogue, Head of Upper School. This team is a program designed to be a non-disciplinary resource for students to raise concerns about their peers in regard to alcohol and drug use, said Susan Perry, Assistant Head of Upper School for Faculty Development and Student Guidance. Three to five faculty members will be elected by students in the coming months to choose trust-
worthy representatives whom they would feel comfortable talking to about sensitive issues concerning the wellbeing of their peers. The exact responsibilities and particulars of the team have not been decided however the administration is more inclined toward instituting a non-anonymous system. In this proposed system, a concerned student would sit down with a member of the Community Health Team and raise concerns about the health of a peer. Depending on the severity of the report, actions taken by the Community Health Team can range from a meeting with both the team and their parents to no action at all. In most cases, however, students’ parents will not be involved unless a
second report is received according “Deep down, if I was a drugto an outline from the Freedom from gie I would want one of my friends Chemical Dependence organization to go straight to me,” said Drew Daprovided by Perry. vis, ‘16. If he remained stubborn or Meetings with the Community unchanged by his friends’ expressed Health team will concerns, Davis not have legal consaid he would want fidentiality protechis friends to seek tion like a profes“Our job is not to parent additional help. sional counsellor As a student you. Our job is to support and friend, and will not serve it is to help students you as people.” difficult to make a manage depen- Peter Bogue decision as to how dency issues but Head of Upper School to help peers exrather refer them to plained Will Redother professionals din. who are qualified “You don’t to help. want to get your friends in trouble but The team will be advised by at the same time you want them to be Perry who has instituted similar pro- healthy,” said Reddin. grams at two other schools. The program is slated to be
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fully operational by January. Faculty who have volunteered for positions on the team were trained by Freedom from Chemical Dependency, a non-profit dedicated to working “with schools and other organizations across the United States and around the world to provide students with the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to make intelligent, healthy choices about alcohol and other drug use,” according to their website mission statement. “This is not a narcing policy,” said Bogue. “Our job is not to parent you. Our job is to support you as people.” Bogue stressed the importance of a “team, not adversarial” relationship between students and the faculty and administration.
Andrew Vande Berg, ‘15, leader of Disc Club and Pokemon Club gains a new recruit at the second annual Club Bazaar. Photo by Emi Myers
Club Bazaar attracts Upper School students to new groups Austin Morin T
Editor
he second annual Club Bazaar was held on the Ravenscroft Quad in early September during lunch. Leaders from Upper School clubs presented their activities, causes, and interests to the student body, allowing students to sign up directly at the booth. “People could sign up for a wide variety of clubs,” said Brett Haensel, ‘17, leader of Running Club. He believes that the excitement from club leaders assisted students in learning about and deciding upon which clubs to get involved with this year.
On the other hand, the ability to sign up for many clubs was possibly one of the Bizarre’s downfalls because “some people didn’t take it seriously, and signed up for too many clubs halfheartedly,” Haensel added. Space was an issue for Mel Broughton, ‘15. He shared that there was so much excitement in the air that “it was a bit loud and noisy” so he had a hard time explaining what Pokemon club was all about. Broughton suggested spacing out the tables a bit more next year. Three years ago, the administration dedicated a 9:35 Common Period to a club assembly in the Jones Theatre. Each club would send a member to the stage to explain the purpose their organization. Many students found this approach boring and strung out.
John Landers, ‘15, believed that the old approach did a poor job of attracting new members to clubs. Although “the leaders would do a great job presenting their clubs, practically no one would pay any attention because it was so long,” said Landers. Peter Bogue, Head of Upper School, introduced the idea of a Club Bazaar from his experiences at his previous job at a school in California. He shared the idea with Helen Velk, Upper School Journalism Instructor/Student Activities, and Kevin Billerman, Assistant Head of Upper School for Student Leadership, who helped him put the idea in motion. Velk, organizer of both the 2013 and 2014 Club Bazaars, believes the new approach to be better than “listening to endless students blabber on and on.”