Red Ribbon Week Ideas for School Counselors

You know how people count down until Christmas and gauge the year by how far we are from then? That’s how school counselors are with Red Ribbon Week. Maybe it’s because we’re singlehandedly responsible for this school-wide campaign, but I think about this week pretty much year-round. Last year we gave you 5 easy ideas for Red Ribbon Week Activities, but in this post we’d like to share 5 ways we empower students during Red Ribbon Week. We have an important message to spread, and one week to do it! Make the most of your Red Ribbon Week campaign using these 5 ideas.

Red Ribbon Week Facts

Before you launch a Red Ribbon Week campaign complete with dress up days, decorations, and lessons, students need to be informed with some facts. What is Red Ribbon Week and why are we “celebrating” it? These announcements will explain Red Ribbon Week to your students before your Red Ribbon Week theme lesson with them!

Red Ribbon Week Door Decorations and Beyond

Decorating for Red Ribbon Week has multiple benefits. Let’s start with easy decorating. These posters are completely free AND they follow the National theme, “Send a Message; Stay Drug Free!” Go download them and start hanging them around your school!
A door decoration contest is a great way to get involvement from other faculty members. It puts the message in front of the students multiple times throughout the day, depending on how many faculty members participate. This website has several cute ideas that might inspire you or your coworkers.

Red Ribbon Week Dress Up Ideas

In many schools Red Ribbon Week is characterized by dress up days. Confession time: When I first became a school counselor, I dreaded the dress up days and tried to make them as easy (ahem, lame) as possible. Over the past few years, and with the help of Kim, the dress up days have become intentional and now serve a purpose. We now make them match the national theme each year. This year the theme is Send a Message, Stay Drug Free. When I first heard the theme, I was at a loss for how we would make this work, but let me tell you… I am MORE excited about the dress up days we have planned this year than I ever have been! Including those years when I just took the easy way out and did “Mismatched Sock Day.”
Just in case there is someone out there who isn’t thrilled about dressing up, we have included daily challenge activities instead. We have also created bell-ringer worksheets that go with the daily challenge. This type of intentionality is what makes Red Ribbon Week memorable.

Make It Fun

We have already created our three lessons for Red Ribbon Week, and I am so excited about them! These lessons are age appropriate for the different age groups that we work with. Our pre-k through 2nd grade students will be hearing about the dangers of taking medicine that doesn’t belong to them. We are explaining this through a lesson called Message on a Bottle, using pirates. Seriously! Pirates! My little girl is obsessed with pirates, so maybe that’s why I’m so excited about this lesson. Our intermediate lesson is focused on the different types of messages we send and receive when we are involved in various activities. Our lesson for older students mixes the dangers of drugs and alcohol with the importance of social media responsibility. The activities and plans we have for these lessons will make this one of the most fun weeks the students will have all year!

Remember the Element of Surprise

I have come to realize that my lessons are the only thing at my school that I can completely control; therefore, I am determined to make them the best ever. Whatever lessons you do with your students, make sure you make them fun. We’ll let you in on some of our plans for our lessons this year.

I mentioned earlier that our lesson for younger students revolves around pirates. These eye patches will help create an experience for our students, and we can’t wait!

We have bought these since our lesson is titled “Message on a Bottle.” We plan on letting students use these to write a message to their future self. How much fun is it going to be years from now when they receive an actual message in a bottle from their past?! What other ideas can you think of with these bottles?

These notecards and envelopes are so cute! We ordered these as another way to go along with the theme of sending a message. We plan on using these to give to the students so they can write a message to an older student to encourage them to choose to stay drug free.

Try to think of a guest speaker that you could invite to talk with the students. Maybe an athlete who has remained drug free could come talk about the challenges and victories he or she has experienced. Talk to a rehabilitation facility. Many times they need to meet educational requirements and will jump at the chance to come speak at a school. One year they brought several sets of drunk goggles and let my students try to walk with them. Students are still talking about that experience!

Whatever you do, enjoy this week! Red Ribbon Week has become so much more meaningful and enjoyable ever since I saw it as an opportunity rather than something I had to check off my list. Let us know what your plans are. We would love to gain new ideas!