Rise Above

 

The choices you make, make you!

 

 

Rise Above is a community based student leadership group focused on encouraging positive choices by sponsoring a variety of activities and acting as role models for Ellington's student community.

  

                                                

                              

   

Click on link below for photos from Rise Above Events

Rise Above Photo Gallery  

 

Can anyone join Rise Above?

Any student at Ellington High School who does not use alcohol, drugs or any other type of substance and is interested in being role models for their peers and younger students is welcome to join Rise Above. Participation at meetings and helping out at events is expected for those who join. To join, students should contact dstauffer@ellington-ct.gov or call 870-3130.

 

                

 

Is Rise Above considered a school activity or community activity?

Rise Above is currently considered both a school and community activity.

 

 

 

   Tips on Peer Pressure

Excerpts from the book, How To Say NO and Keep Your Friends by Sharon Scott...

Many teens say they drink only to appear more grown-up but also to feel comfortable-to loosen up in social situations. Some say alcohol helps them to overcome shyness. The truth is, it does loosen you up, but that also means you may do or say things that you would not normally say or do if you were thinking clearly! See More...

 

 

 

Alcohol Facts                       

• Nearly 70% of 8th graders perceive alcoholic beverages as “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get.
  
  
• By the time they complete high school nearly 80% of teenagers have consumed alcohol, 30% report having been drunk in the past month, and 29% report having five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks.
  
  
• Approximately 20% of 8th graders report having recently (within the past 30 days) consumed alcohol compared to 35% of 10th graders and almost 50% of 12th graders.
  
  
• A little over 20% of 8th graders report having been drunk at least once in their life compared to almost 45% of 10th graders and 60% of 12th graders.
  
  
• A person who begins drinking as a young teen is four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who waits until adulthood to use alcohol.
  
  
• During adolescence significant changes occur in the body, including the formation of new networks in the brain. Alcohol use during this time may affect brain development.
  
  
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15-20, and the rate of fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older. Alcohol use also is linked with youthful deaths by drowning, suicide, and homicide.
  
  
• Alcohol use is associated with many adolescent risk behaviors, including other drug use and delinquency, weapon carrying and fighting, and perpetrating or being the victim of rape.

*According to the Department of Health and Human Services