Spring Semi-Formal Ball Sponsored by The Collaborative’s Our Voices Xposed and Burr & Burton Academy Students Against Destructive Decisions

Who: All Area 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Students

What: Totally awesome spring dance thrown by OVX & BBA SADD

When: Friday, April 27th, Tonight!!, 7-10 PM

Where: Rowland Center (cafeteria) at Burr & Burton Academy

How: $5 + 1 canned, non-perishable food item admission; Permission slip required. Download permission slip here.

Any school that has students attending must provide a faculty/parent chaperon.

Friday Fun Fest!

Select Fridays from 6:30-8:45 PM

Open to 6th-8th Grade Students

Each night will have wacky gym games and prizes (including iTunes gift cards and gift certificates to Village Picture Shows and Spiral Scoops)! Before playing gym games, an educational workshop will be offered. Friday Fun Fest nights are open to all area 6th, 7th and 8th grade middle students. Friday Fun Fest nights that occur after the school year ends will also be open to future 6th grade students and recently graduated 8th grade students.

May 25th @ Manchester Elementary Middle School

Wacky gym games: Defend The King & Bucketball. Presentation on Bullying & Healthy Relationships Presentation by Project Against Violent Encounters

More info to come on June Friday Fun Fest nights! Also, teen volunteers are needed! Get community service hours while having fun! Contact Kerri for more information at kerri@thecollaborative.us or 824-4200

Registration is open for Collaborative Camp. This year we will offer a seven week summer camp open to K – 8th graders. Six of the week’s activities will be based around a famous book or author and one week will honor the 2012 Summer Olympics! Special highlights include swim lessons, daily trips to lakes, hikes, young writer’s camp, and a make math fun mini camp. A specially designed program is offered to 7th and 8th grade students called Youth Engaged Learning Leadership. This program’s mantra is “Challenge Yourself, Learn Together and Serve Others” Y.E.L.L. participants gain leadership skills. For all the details and to register, click here

Join The Collaborative, Vermont Kids Against Tobacco and Our Voices Xposed for an awesome community event!

Activities: Recognizing local tobacco & alcohol retailers that have successfully passed compliance checks, celebrating local business and organizations that have gone smoke-free in the last year, screening the documentary, Making A Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft and Global Tobacco Addiction, and concluding with a community dialogue on Big Tobacco.

Event Location: Village Picture Shows

Event Time: 11:30AM-1:00PM

$5 suggested donation

Keep the conversation and message from the Remember Alex Brown Foundation alive. To help keep you and others safe while driving there are some apps that help manage text messages while driving.
1) Drive Safely: This FREE app is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone.

2) Text Toggle: This app is designed to intercept text messages while driving, and immediately reply to the sender with a personalized message.

3) Phone Guard: per hour as detected by global positioning satellite (GPS) tracking, This app locks the phone’s keyboard once the vehicle speed reaches 10 miles per hour preventing the user from emailing, surfing the web or texting while driving and automatically sends a customized pre-set response that is delivered to the texter or caller that reads, for example “I am driving and will contact you when I reach my destination.”

Since August 2010, The Collaborative has run a social marketing campaign using flamingos, kiwis and eggs to deliver the message that 9 out of 10 area parents do not serve alcohol to their teen. The objectives of The Collaborative’s social marketing campaign are to feature a positive message, raise awareness and encourage the minority to joining the majority. The Collaborative reaches out to the greater Manchester and Mountains communities to highlight and promote the positive steps families are taking to reduce underage drinking. The current campaign will deliver the message, “8 out of 10 area parents object to letting their teen attend a party where alcohol is available. Talk about it, tell them why you object.” The message encourages dialogue and communication between youth and the adults while reducing underage drinking. These numbers come from the 2011 Collaborative Community Survey. Maryann Morris, Executive Director of The Collaborative says “Letting teens know that you object to their attending a party where alcohol is available and letting them know the reasons why can help teens stay alcohol free. Parental monitoring can be a powerful force to keep teens from succumbing to the impulse to drink.”
Parents cite many different reasons for objecting to letting their teen attend a party where alcohol is available. Reasons may include:
• Underage drinking is illegal
• A teen’s safety may be compromised at a party where alcohol is served
• Teens who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to develop alcohol problems as adults.
• Teen drinking also increases the risk of unsafe sex, drunk driving and other hazardous behaviors.
• Sticking to your family rules when at a friends’ home is challenging
• Your teen’s school commitments may be compromised by attending a party where alcohol is served
So, if you haven’t already, join the majority and Tell them why YOU object!

The Girls on the Run is a positive youth development program that inspires third though eighth grade girls to stay true to themselves and live free from societal stereotypes. For 10 weeks, girls will participate in lessons that empower girls to celebrate their bodies, honor their voice, and embrace their gifts while prepare for a 5k run. Girls on the Run, 3rd-5th grades, and Girls on Track, 6th-8th grades, starts March 5th and ends May 19th at a 5k race in Brattleboro. Girls meet after school twice a week for an hour and fifteen minutes where they will have fun, be informed and empowered, and build strength and confidence. Registration forms can be found at The Collaborative and the FBUS front office. Completed registration forms are due by March 1st. The cost of the program registration is $70. Through grant writing and fundraising The Collaborative can cover some of this expense.
We are asking each participant to pay a minimum of $25 and if you can contribute more or the full amount. Any extra money will go towards ensuring the continuity of this program in our community. The program is limited to 15 girls per program so acceptance is first come first serve. For more details contact Cara at 824-4200

Registration_Health_History_Consent_form_2012_for_Girls-1

Thursday, March 1st  7-8 PM in the Long Trail School Theater

Community members are invited to join Long Trail School and The Collaborative at this unique event.

The Brown Family lost a daughter in a texting and driving crash. Since the crash, they have devoted their lives to traveling around the country and sharing their story at high schools and with communities. On March 1st they will share their story with our communities.

To hear more about the Brown family and Remember Alex Brown, watch this incredible video about their time on Extreme Home Makeover.

For more information, please call us at 802-824-4200.

Area high school students, come one, come all to this overnight leadership event that starts on Friday, February 10th. This PLT will include workshops on stress management, community involvement, and the disease of addiction. With its games, good food, and fun, this event can’t be beat!

Register online here.
Or follow this link to download information and registration forms.

The Collaborative’s AmeriCorps team will be offering a free day of childcare on MLK Day, January 16, 2012.

Spots are still available! Programming is open to K-6th grade students; middle & high school students are invited to volunteer at the event. Participants must bring a lunch and outdoor clothing. Snacks will be provided by The Collaborative. Click here for more info.

Register online here. Or contact Cara at 824-4200 or cara@thecollaborative.us to request registration forms.

Join the AmeriCorps team for a day of service. It’s MLK Day: A Day On!