Red Ribbon Week
This week Belen Jesuit joins the nation in celebrating Red Ribbon Week. The goal of this week is to raise awareness about the risks of alcohol and drug abuse and promote healthier life choices among our students.
The statistics have consistently shown that teenagers who start drinking before the age of 15 are 6 times more likely to become addicted to alcohol later in life when compared to their peers who did not start drinking until after 21 years of age. In addition, risk factors for illicit drug use and self-harming behaviors all increase in those who began drinking in their early teens. Alcohol also continues to be the leading factor in the top 3 causes of death for 15-24 year olds. (ww.cdc.gov)
The risk factors associated with underage drinking and drug use seem daunting yet their most powerful combatant is quite accessible: Parents. There is much support, information and data available through organizations such as Informed Families (www.informedfamilies.org) that can offer simple suggestions to parents that will help them navigate these situations with their teens and create a family environment that supports good decision-making. Parents can be the most significant factor in decreasing underage drinking and drug use. Belen will be hosting a meeting for parents with Ray Estefania, a substance abuse professional, on November 1st at 7:30 pm. For more information on this program or this topic in general please contact Ms. Teri Gutierrez, Director of School Counseling.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.