SNOWFLURRY SET FOR MARCH 19

Operation Snowflurry is a one-day Snow program for fourth and fifth grade students. Our goal at Snowflurry is to help 4th and 5th grade students from many different schools meet new friends, learn information about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, encourage them to continue to choose to be drug free, and provide them with some of the skills and ideas they might need to be able to say "no." Snowflurry is based on the tenet that accurate, reliable information leads to positive, responsible decision-making. The program delivers information about alcohol and other drugs, communication skills, decision-making and problem solving skills and a support system within a peer group setting. 

This one day event will be held on March 19th at Crone Middle School. For more information or to register go to this link.   

More Spring Programs for Youth!

Throughout the year, NCO's groups and one-night workshops offer unique experiences for youth where they can meet other kids/teens their age, have fun, and learn some new skills and perspectives regarding social confidence and self-esteem. 

In December and February, we ran one-night workshops for high-schoolers titled "Break Me Out", to help teens in this age group learn about connecting with their peers and defining their own personal identity.

This Friday, March 4th, we are running a one-night workshop for jr high/middle school youth titled "Be You, Be Free, Be Who You Want To Be".  Very limited spots are still available. Please click here for more information or registration.

Also coming up, one night workshops for 4th & 5th graders: The ACES workshop for boys, titled "Being a Real-Life Superhero" is scheduled for April 8th.  The ACES girls workshop, "How to Let Your Inner Star Shine" is scheduled for May 13th.  Our last 6 week group of ACES for the current academic year is already underway, but more groups will be scheduled for the fall of 2011.

Middle School Madness  which is designed to help youth transition into Middle School/Jr High with confidence, is set to run from April 28th - May 19th.  The 4 week group will run this spring for 5th graders, and again in the fall for 6th graders.  Registration will be open by mid-March.

More details on the ACES workshops and the spring Middle School Madness will be available soon on our website.  To be put on a notification list regarding future groups or workshops, please contact Kari Wittmann Lata at 630-717-9408x2 or kwlata@ncoyouth.org.

NCO Youth & Family Services will be sending Prevention Director Karen Jarczyk to Lithuania from March 11-20 to work with International Snowball. 
Operation Snowball provides leadership programs in substance abuse prevention which help youth to enhance their self-esteem, develop responsible decision making skills, and create positive peer influence.

The International Snowball Chapter is chartered and exists to promote the goals of Operation Snowball in the world community.  Due to Karen's work with NCO's Operation Snowball and other local alcohol, tobacco and  drug prevention programming, she was invited to share her expertise about Snow programs for younger age youth and about the Power of Choice, a local social norms marketing project. 
 
Traveling with Jack Irwin, President of the International Snowball Board, Karen will be visiting eight schools throughout Lithuania that have Operation Snowball Chapters. She will be presenting and working with the students and adult leaders in an effort to enhance their programs. Several evenings she will be presenting to parents of students about additional prevention strategies.  On Friday, March 18, Karen will present at a conference at the Rezenkne District Grand Hall in Panevenzys being held for school and community educators, addiction specialists, as well as adult and youth Snowball leaders.
 
"The communities NCO serves have been strengthened by the collaborative prevention efforts we have provided leadership for and we are delighted to share some of what we have learned in another part of the world" Karen stated. She is "certain that the professional and personal exchange involved in working with the people of Lithuania will in turn enhance NCO staff's understanding of the effective substance abuse prevention among cultures.

For more information about NCO's prevention programs visit Naperville Operation Snowball and the Power of Choice