SADD Overview

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is a national organization dedicated to addressing the issues of underage drinking, impaired driving, drug use, and other destructive decisions. SADD’s mission is to provide students with the best prevention and intervention tools possible to deal with the serious issues young adults are facing today. SADD sponsors fun activities that are substance-free. Motivational speakers are brought in to discuss the consequences of destructive decisions, and SADD students participate in service projects in the school and in the community. They include:

• A toy drive in December
• An all day volunteer visit to a nursing home where they help out in many ways as well as interact with residents
• Co-sponsor a food drive with the Student Council
• Leadership/mentoring meetings with Student Council
• World AIDS Awareness Day
• Role Model Appreciation Day
• Support a Cause Day
• Penny Drive with proceeds donated to charity of students’ choice (i.e. Rosie’s Place, MSPCA, and an organization that provides backpacks full of supplies to soldiers returning to the US from war zones)
• SADD Week (Speakers addressing the issues of drunk driving, drug use, and other destructive decisions students often make during the prom season)
• Messenger Day (an activity where SADD members represent throughout the day the number of students who die each day from making a destructive decision).

Recycling Program

Although recycling paper has been a long term project at LPS, it picked up momentum during the 2007-2008 school years. Work study and SADD students and staff have worked cooperatively to empty the classroom bins and bring the recyclables to the Newton Recycling Center. Our recycling program has increased student and staff involvement as it has expanded to include cardboard, shredded paper, plastic and glass. The shed beside the Administrative Trailer is used to collect these added materials, as well as newspapers, catalogs and magazines. Food service students bring boxes, rinsed plastic containers and all other recyclable materials to the shed. The day care staff rinses and collects the baby food jars and cereal boxes for recycling. The expansion of this program is due to the staff of Central Paper Recycling (CRP) who picks up all of the recyclables and brings them to a center in Braintree. The enhanced program has resulted in a noticeable reduction of trash being disposed of in the dumpster and a significant impact on the environment. Students and staff are much more aware of the materials that can be recycled and bring this information and awareness home with them to their communities.