Be kind, be healthy, be drug free!
The goal of red ribbon week at Terrace View is to promote awareness and education about the bad adverse effects drugs can have and to encourage our children early on to participate and choose healthy activities plus healthy habits, thus paving the road to positive self-esteem and confidence in saying "no" to drugs.
During red ribbon week, the Terrace View PTA coordinated activities for all students to participate in that promote the importance of being healthy, kind to others and above all drug-free. The students had a theme each day to dress up at school which was fun for them, but also provided a visual nonverbal reminder that we are in this together and every message counts. On Monday, our kick off to red ribbon, everyone wore red clothing and tied red ribbons on the back fence of the school, next to words that spelled “just say no”. Seeing everyone in red and tying red ribbons as a pledge to be drug-free, sends a very powerful message to students that we (parents, teachers, administrators, adults, peers) are all in it together, united against drugs. Chastdei Kotsay, a member of the red ribbon committee, led the team in decorating the front and back of the school. Chastdei said “I am so proud to be a part of Terrace View, where students are proud to say "no" to drugs. I want them to see the red bows and be reminded of their commitment in making healthy choices today and every day. ”
For the third year, Terrace View was fortunate to have the San Bernardino sheriff helicopter fly over and land again, thanks to the efforts of Deputy Frank Navarro. When the helicopter landed, it was especially exciting to see deputy Navarro step out of the helicopter to greet our students. He is very supportive and dedicated to creating positive memories for our students, and his participation is appreciated during red ribbon week. Deputy Navarro commented, “it is important to instill in our youth that we in law enforcement are strongly committed to a drug-free community not only during red ribbon week but all year long.”
This year, our entire student body was able to form a human red ribbon, on our field, as a united pledge to say "no" to drugs. We’d like to give a very special thank you to Mrs. Holli Herrera, 6th grade Terrace View teacher, for coordinating such a huge task on the ground. After it was complete, it left such a positive impression on so many of the students and parents. A parent of a 3rd grader was so excited when they saw the aerial video, she exclaimed, “I love that my child got to participate in that!” It really is great to see an entire school stand together and pledge in a big way to say “no” to drugs.
Everyone at Terrace View is so grateful for the support of Mayor Darcy McNaboe. Our mayor is very supportive of our students and gave a very fitting speech Monday morning for our kick off to red ribbon. Her message was clear: “you only have to say "no" to one thing and that is drugs…. and when you do that, you say "yes" to so many more things.” As she encouraged students to choose healthy options so they can enjoy reading, playing, and maybe even flying a helicopter like the one that landed at our school. When asked to reflect on the events of this week, the mayor responded, “The message conveyed throughout this week was a positive focus on engaging in healthy activities and creating healthy life habits. It is wonderful to see the gift of time and energy that the PTA committee members, educators, administrators and community members put in the events to make them memorable and educational. With the incredible support from the SB county sheriff, fire department, the Grand Terrace’s Women’s Club, local businesses and other members of the community for this week of events, a strong bond is formed for organizations that are a positive force in our community. ”
Another highlight of the week was when students were able to make pledge necklaces on the playground. The tables provided for this activity were constantly full and surrounded by students of all grade levels as they created personal messages that showed they were drug or bully free. This activity was a great way for students to interact with one another and think of creative ways to write positive affirmations to build one another up. It was during this activity that a teacher, Mr. Butler, approached asking about the red apples. One of his students remembered the red apples from last year and asked when they would be getting them. Delicious red apples are a way of introducing healthy snack options to our students during red ribbon week, and they have been donated to Terrace View during red ribbon week for the 3rd year by David and Penny Radtke. Angela Raykowski, PTA red ribbon committee member, assisted in passing out apples to classrooms and was so excited afterwards, saying “everyone was so happy to get the apples today—I like encouraging healthy habits!”
During red ribbon week this year, our committee decided to include an anti-bully assembly. Our students participated in a bully show assembly. We want to send the message that being kind counts, and we need to work together to help each student learn to stop the behaviors that can lead to bullying. We have to learn to work together and just be kind to one another.
The final highlight of our week was when the Grand Terrace Titans came on campus. This visit was coordinated by Grand Terrace high school athletic director Tiffany Gordon and consisted of up to 70 Titan high school students plus the Titan mascot. The high school students first visited the classrooms and encouraged students to pledge to be drug-free and share how they are involved with healthy activities, and then everyone came out to participate in a rally finale. It was so nice to see the peer to peer interaction and how older students can create such a positive message. Jeremiah Mixon is in his senior year at Grand Terrace high school and this is his 2nd visit to terrace view during red ribbon week. He gave the opening speech to students before the rally began, asking them to think—make the right choice and to say "no" when it comes to drugs. When asked why he feels it is important to participate in events like this, he responded “It’s a great experience and I think it’s important to get the message to younger students that they can make good choices. If we can come in our Titan gear and show how important school is, how important it is to listen to your teachers and to your parents, then everyone wins. ”
Each student at Terrace View had the opportunity to participate in a poster contest. Stater Brothers donated 1000 brown paper bags, and posters were created on the bags. As our red ribbon committee collected the posters, Pia Farmer, committee member, exclaimed “this is my favorite part—seeing all these amazing posters and creative messages!” Judging was done by our first responders, our GT fire department Deputy Navarro, Arnold Yzaguirre and the entire GTHS attendance department. They chose 2 winners from every grade level. Winners will be announced on Thursday, October 26th. Winners will receive a prize package that consist of a Chillz gift card, an engraved Terrace View red ribbon dog tag medal and a month of lessons (donated by Habu Ewing Tae Kwon Do, Dance Dimensions, The Cheer Factory, the Rec Center Art, The Art Barn, Cal Skate). Every student who participated and turned in a poster received a Fiesta Village certificate. On Friday, October 27th, the posters will be recycled back to the Grand Terrace Stater Brothers. Thank you to Grand Terrace Stater Brothers for donating the brown paper bags to red ribbon week.
Dance Dimensions, a local dance studio, has organized a group of Terrace View dancers who will perform a special red ribbon dance for our assembly on Thursday, October 26th. The dance instructors volunteer their time to choreograph and provide practice for many weeks before the assembly. This performance shows the amazing dedication Dance Dimensions has in helping our students engage in healthy activities.
Terrace View teachers were also participants, helping their students decorate their classroom doors. A winning door from each grade level will be selected, and Lakeshore has donated $25 gift cards to each winner. Judges for the door decorating contest were crew from the GT fire department; Arnold Yzyaguirre and Mrs. Ingrid Muensterman, assistant superintendent-human resources, Colton Joint Unified School District.
Martha A. Macias, a committee member on the red ribbon committee, felt very proud to be a part of this committee this year. She said “As a parent of two Terrace View elementary students, I am very thankful to the school administration, PTA and the community for their involvement and support during red ribbon week. Our children are the only hope for a cleaner, safer and kinder world. By teaching them to stay away from drugs, to make healthier choices when it comes to what they eat, and by teaching them to be respectful and kind to others, we are creating a better future for our planet. Kids look up to first responders and adults overall, to get a glimpse of how they should behave and the consequences of such behaviors. This past Monday, I was able to witness first-hand, the excitement Terrace View students felt as they were watching the sheriff helicopter land on their campus, followed by an inspiring message from our city’s mayor. I’m sure the support from our community’s leaders is something that will create a lasting impact in our children’s future decisions. ”
It’s been a great week. and I am very excited that all the students here at Terrace View elementary pledged to be drug-free, and I am happy that everyone participated in red ribbon week. I especially want to thank the amazing team of dedicated PTA red ribbon committee parent volunteers who put in a lot of hard work to make this week a success; it is a great team and I see that their hearts are fueled by the love they have for their children and the strong desire to educate and motivate all children to have the right tools to make the best possible choices in life. We do this for our children, for all children. If we can continue to work as a team in our school and our community; we have a better chance of keeping our children on the right path. Which reminds me of three handsome 5th grade boys I met this week. They were looking cool at the pledge necklace table on Monday during lunch recess. After they made their necklaces, one boy said “If one of us starts to stray from the good road to go down the bad road, let’s work together to pull each other back to the good road…” yes, my heart stood still. That statement made it all worth it—that’s what red ribbon week is all about. Julia Firnkoess, red ribbon committee coordinator
The red ribbon committee would like to thank all our sponsors and businesses for coming together and providing support.
Grand Terrace Women’s Club, Mark Mendoza & Isco, Dance Dimensions, Barnett Real Estate, Habu Ewing Tae Kwon Do, Lakeshore Learning Store, Cal Skate of Grand Terrace, The Cheer Factory, The Rec Center Art, The Art Barn, Grand Terrace Stater Brothers, San Bernardino County Sheriff Helicopter Crew; Grand Terrace fire department, Deputy Frank Navarro, David and Penny Radtke, Tiffany Gordan, GTHS athletic dept. , Grand Terrace Titans, mayor Darcy McNaboe.
A very special thank you to; the city of Grand Terrace community youth funds, the city council for their generous donation to provide our bully show assembly and the red ribbon booklets for each of our students.