EVERFI - Free Health and Wellness Curricula for Montana Schools
More and more Montana schools are taking advantage of free digital curricula available from EVERFI. Vaping: Know the Truth has been a popular vaping prevention course designed for grades 8-12. EVERFI has recently added two new lessons: 1 - to equip learners with knowledge about the health effects, risks, and consequences of vaping CBD, THC, and the co-use of cannabis and nicotine, and 2- to analyze how peer pressure can influence youth cannabis use and to evaluate and justify better, healthier choices for mental and physical wellness. Click here for a course outline.
Other courses from the EVERFI Health and Wellness Suite include:
Prescription Drug Safety: Know the Truth Includes 8 free digital lessons for grades 8-12. Covers the basics about prescription drugs, identifies their safe use, introduces the science of addiction, empowers students with refusal skills, and digs deeper with facts about fentanyl.
Understanding Mental Wellness Six digital lessons for grades 8-12 including Introduction to Mental Health, Understanding Mental Health Challenges, Mental Health Coping Strategies, Staying Healthy in Times of Uncertainty, Seeking and Offering Support, and Creating a Supportive Mental Wellness Plan
Alcohol Education: Safe and Smart Five lessons For grades 8-12. Designed to help students analyze peer pressure and advertising influences and examine the effects that alcohol has on their brain and body.
Honor Code – Bullying Prevention For grades 8-10. Designed to empower students to create change whether they’re engaged in bullying, on the receiving end, or witnessing it in school.
Character Playbook – Healthy Relationships Grades 6-9. Gives students practical applications for social and emotional skill development.
Explore all the EVERFI course offerings HERE.
The Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program has once again provided funds to the OPI to offer grants to Montana schools for implementing strategies to reduce youth tobacco use. Grant recipients will be awarded up to $10,000 per school or $20,000 per school district to fund student tobacco use prevention strategies.
About Vape Detectors: Purchasing Vape Detectors was allowed in previous grant cycles, where the desired goal was to deter/prevent/reduce student vaping in schools. As we work to gain a better understanding of the efficacy of these sensors, we're eliminating vape detectors as an allowable grant expense this year.
If your district has installed vape detectors, we are very interested to hear about your experiences with them. Please share your experience by responding to these questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are just a few examples of strategies for reducing youth tobacco use in your school:
Educational Programs: ALTERNATIVES TO SUSPENSION
Peer Mentoring - GMA Video Arrowhead High
School/Community Service Project
Cessation Resource Referrals:
Vaping Prevention Curriculum - Supplemental Support
Poster/Composition Contests Relative to Tobacco Use Prevention
Student-Centered Media Campaign
Youth Prevention Groups/Clubs like ReACT
This grant application period opens at 12:01 a.m. Monday, February 19, 2024, and will close at 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 1, 2024.
Please note: Once the grant opens, all applications must be submitted using the link that will appear on the grant webpage.
For inquiries about the application process contact Kris Minard or 406.444.0785 or Beth Dominicis or 406.594.0496
Welcome Dr. Beth Dominicis
The Office of Public Instruction is proud to introduce Dr. Beth Dominicis as a new member of the Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) team. Beth is passionate about health promotion. She has a BA in Film, a BS in Biology, a Graduate Degree in Education, and a Doctorate in Chiropractic. She has taught elementary school, plus middle and high school sciences. Beth also led doctorate-level health sciences courses. She has been a practicing chiropractic physician since 1994 and loves answering neuro-musculoskeletal, biomechanical, and nutritional questions. She’s an avid humane society volunteer with two sweet, adopted dogs. Beth’s an artist at heart and in her spare time, she plays with fine/studio arts. She lives in Montana’s lovely Bitterroot Valley.
Beth will share TUPE duties with Kris Minard as they traverse the state offering vaping prevention presentations to Montana youth and working to promote disciplinary policies that promote access to quit resources, connections to school, education, and healthy alternatives.
|
About Vaping: Student Presentations
Dr. Beth Dominicis and Kris Minard are scheduling student vaping prevention presentations for the remainder of the school year. If you would like to inquire about presentations for your school, please fill out this inquiry form. Presentations have been designed for 4-5th grade, Middle School, and High School and are typically 30-40 minutes in length. These presentations have been well received by students and school staff. these presentations are free to Montana school districts. For more information, contact Kris Minard or Beth Dominicis.
|
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
|
