Lions Quest Leader January 2012

Lions Quest Leader

January 2012

Wilson High School Brings Lions Quest to Homeroom

Glen A. Wilson High (CA) students are finding that there's no place like homeroom for developing their social and emotional skills. Every Wednesday, students use Lions Quest to develop their cultural awareness, interpersonal communication, and personal-management and -responsibility skills. Homeroom coordinator Laura Siefken said freshmen and sophomores have been particularly receptive to the program. Siefken added that Lions Quest has also been well received by her staff. "Teachers really like the fact that there are different options for each lesson, which means they can reuse lessons and reinforce the same skills with different grade levels."

This is important because each student has the same homeroom teacher throughout high school, which creates continuity, strengthens the student-teacher relationship and now gives students four years to enhance their SEL skills with Lions Quest. At the moment, Wilson High is only using Skills for Action Skills Bank, but Siefken hopes this is only the beginning. "I would like to see the (Hacienda La Puente Unified School) District 'open up' the program and use more of the Lions Quest curriculum. It really has a lot to offer," she said.

Community Partnership Grants

Congratulations to our U.S. grant recipients!

District 24 E, Virginia, and Lion Peggy Smith
District 32 D, South Carolina, and Lion Dianne Pitts

Community Partnership Grants can be used to bring Lions Quest to a new community, or to reactivate dormant programs. Grants are non-matching, available for up to $10,000 and awarded on a rolling basis. Click here to download the application.

Workshop Recognition

Lions Quest would like to recognize Lions who helped organize LQ training workshops:

Jim Johnke and District 37-S Lions, Billings (MT)
Hilary Kumnick and 23-C Lions, Killingworth and Durham (CT)
Stuart Wizwer and MD 20 Lions, Fallsburg (NY)
Toni Shockey and MD 7 Lions, Fayetteville (AR)
Tony Dowell and MD 3 Lions, Ada (OK)

Numbers of Note

70 countries are using Lions Quest
92 U.S. districts have appointed a Lions Quest Chairperson

If you haven't appointed a Chair, now is the time. Email your Lion's contact information to Christopher.bunch@lionsclubs.org.

Marijuana Use among Teens on the Rise

More and more teens are watching their futures go up in smoke. Teens are using more marijuana and less alcohol according to a 2011 national survey of 47,000 eight-, 10th- and 12th-graders sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This marks the fourth consecutive year of increased marijuana use in NIDA's annual survey.

The survey found that 36.4 percent of 12th-graders reported using marijuana in the past year, 28.8 percent of 10th-graders and 12.5 percent of eighth-graders. One in every 15 seniors reported smoking pot on a daily or near daily basis, the highest rate since 1981. Researchers note that the increased use correlates with a decreasing percentage of teens that see "great risk" in marijuana use.

New Skills for Adolescence Out-of-School Time Curriculum

Lions Quest SFA for OST has been adapted from our Skills for Adolescence program to meet the unique challenges of the after-school setting. It combines SEL with service-learning lessons to provide a meaningful program that can stand alone or be used as an extension of SFA for schools already implementing the program. It's perfect for middle schools, the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, or other youth-service organizations seeking a quality after-school program.

Global Youth Service Day

April 20-22, 2012. Find info and resources for participating in the largest service event in the world.