December 15th marked the end of the first "My Natural High" Essay contest on www.naturalhigh.org! With over 400 entries submitted, Rebecca Delgado was the Grand Prize Winner, receiving a $5000 Scholarship for her excellent description on how reading is a natural high and why it has kept her away from drugs. Eight other students won Apple Gift Cards for having the most votes in each "Natural High" Category. Send your kids to www.naturalhigh.org to win the next round!!

Teenage Risks and How to Avoid Them
New studies showed that adolescents actually overestimate their risk of suffering negative side effects from activities like drinking and unprotected sex. Dr. Valerie Reyna at Cornell University discovered that, "teenagers do rationally weigh benefits and risks, but when they do that, the equation delivers the message to go ahead and do that, because to the teen the benefits outweigh the risks." For example, where as an adolescent might consider playing Russian roulette for a $1 million payoff, a normal adult would not give it a moment's thought. Read full article for her suggestions.

New resources are now available online at www.sundtmemorial.org  for parents and teachers to download free of charge. Use these facts, lesson plans, and tool kits to help you further address the topic of drugs and alcohol amongst your community and loved ones. Make sure to read the document labelled "Pocket Shots" to see the new alarming alcohol product designed to target youth. Also, take a minute and build your awareness by understanding the signs of various drug use.