Category Archives: Teens

Disc Golf Tournament 6/8

Posted on May 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Disc Golf Tournament 6/8

A Day at the Beach:
Disc Golf Tournament
Saturday – June 8th, 2013
1 PM to 5 PM
Hospital Hill Fields
44 Hospital Road | Medfield, MA

On June 8th, kids and adults of all ages will gather to play Frisbee Disc Golf and
enjoy the outdoors. Fun, games and frisbeethrowing clinics will also be part of this charitable event. Proceeds go to Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) to support educational initiatives for substance abuse and prevention in the
community.

Special prizes will be awarded for best Hawaiian shirt. Bring your tropical vibes
and beach attire. Kan Jam, Cornhole, beach volleyball, and other summertime sand classics will be enjoyed by all. Come to enjoy music, food, and fun!
Don’t forget to bring your Agame for the tournament; top finishers will
receive prizes from Noon Hill Grill, Blue Moon, Donut Express, Zebra’s, and
other sponsors. There will be tournament Tshirts for sale at the event.

What is Disc Golf?
Played much like traditional golf, Disc Golf involves throwing a Frisbee disc instead of a ball and clubs.  The goal is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws. Players start from a tee area and throw their Frisbee disc to a “hole” (an elevated metal basket). Players try to navigate the 9 hole course in the fewest amount of throws as possible while enjoying the challenge of negotiating the environment they are surrounded by.

Players will register in teams of up to 4 members. Tee times on the course will be assigned and the schedule emailed to participants, with time preference priority given to preregistrants.

Parking is easy and free.

Register online at http://lesteronline.net/discgolf/
Registration price is:
● $10 for students & kids
● $20 for adults
Your donation for the Albert B. Lester Memorial Disc Golf Tournament goes to support initiatives for
substance abuse prevention in the community.
For more information call Ben Lester @ 5082458088,
ablester@colby.edu
Registration Form Albert
B. Lester Memorial Disc Golf Tournament (“A Day at the Beach”)
NOTE: Registration is online at http://lesteronline.net/discgolf/. Please only use this form if
you are having trouble with the online form!
Team Name: _______________________________________
Preferred Tee Time (between 1:00 and 4:00): ___________
Payment Method (circle): Dropoff
Mail Day of Tournament
Team Captain: _____________________________________ Student/child Adult
Team Member #2: ___________________________________ Student/child Adult
Team Member #3: ___________________________________ Student/child Adult
Team Member #4: ___________________________________ Student/child Adult
Contact’s Email: ___________________________________________________
Contact’s Phone: ___________________________________________________
Please include $10 for each kid/student and $20 for each adult in cash or check.
Total Enclosed Contribution: $___________
Make check payable to: Medfield Foundation MCAP.
Your donation goes to support initiatives for substance abuse prevention in the community.
Thank you!
Mail to: Ben Lester, 28 Hartford St, Medfield MA 02052
Additional players may be matched if team contains less than a foursome.
This form available online at http://lesteronline.net/discgolf/

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Posted in Entertainment, Events, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Medfield Foundation, Teens

8th grade trip to DC

Posted on May 21, 2013 | 2 comments

Parting words over heard at 6 AM this morning as parents hugged an 8th grade daughter just before she boarded the buses for DC, “be good, no tattoos.”  The parents promised in response.

Talked briefly with a teacher, and learned just how many scheduling adjustments the school has to make to cover the classes for the 19 teachers who chaperone the trip.  Sounds like everyone has to stretch and cooperate to make it work.

2 Comments

Posted in Schools, Teens

SAM on public health problems related to marijuana

Posted on May 9, 2013 | Comments Off on SAM on public health problems related to marijuana

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) in Massachusetts has a page at their website that describes the reasons why marijuana use by young people is not good for their health – http://learnaboutsam.com/public-health/

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Posted in Marijuana, Teens

Medfield Marijuana

Posted on April 30, 2013 | Comments Off on Medfield Marijuana

Carol Read of Medfield is working in Needham as their federally funded substance abuse coordinator, seeking to reduce substance abuse amongst Needham youth, and she also volunteers with Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) (www.MedfieldCares.org).  Carol also works on the state level with the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance (MAPA), which became active during the recent ballot initiative.  Carol and her MAPA colleagues invited me to attend a kick off dinner last Friday evening for a group called Project SAM, Smart Approaches to Marijuana in Massachusetts.

Project SAM is headlined by

  • former Congressman Patrick Kennedy,
  • a child psychiatrist from Colorado who has studied the increased problems his patients have had because of marijuana, and
  • a former drug adviser to recent U.S. presidents.

Friday evening the Project Sam members shared the data developed in places like Colorado, that has had medical marijuana for a while.  The facts I took home were that

  • the brains of young people are not fully developed until their mid-20’s, making them more susceptible to substances
  • marijuana use by our young people puts them at increased risk for mental health hospitalizations and substance abuse problems in later life (both statistically rise with marijuana use by young people),
  • fairly low levels of marijuana use (2-3 times a week for 2-3 years) were shown by a New Zealand study to reduce IQ by up to 8 points.

If these facts are correct, it is not responsible for we as parents, as adults, as a town, and as a society to allow our young people to injure themselves by means of marijuana use, without giving them all the facts.  The data I heard on Friday evening really scares me for the risks that our youth are taking with the marijuana use that we know is happening in Medfield.  Our youth need to get these complete facts, so they can at least make an informed decision.

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Posted in MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Teens

MCAP

Posted on March 26, 2013 | Comments Off on MCAP

Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP)’s grant application to the Federal government seeking $625,000 funding over five years has been submitted for the second straight year.  Dawn Alcott, Director of Medfield Youth Outreach, and Dr. Susan Andersen-Navalta of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, a Medfield resident, took the lead to prepare the grant application again this year.

MCAP is a coalition formed to eliminate substance abuse amongst young people in Medfield.  MCAP has been holding monthly meetings for almost two years.

Needham and Natick have both already received the grants.  Medfield resident Carol Read is the grant funded staff person in the Needham program, and have been hugely helpful to MCAP by sharing how the Needham effort has progressed and what they have done that has been successful.

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Posted in Safety, Teens

Wayland’s MCAP equivalent presents a program

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Comments Off on Wayland’s MCAP equivalent presents a program

This from the WaylandCares flyer –

What does medical marijuana mean to you?
How could it impact our youth and our community?

Medical marijuana is now legal in Massachusetts. What does this mean for communities?  What’s in the law? What’s not in the law? What are the implications for our youth? And what’s the best conversation to have with our children about marijuana to prevent teen use?

Learn from the experts:
 Yasmin Mashhoon, Ph.D., Neuroscientist at the Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory of McClean Hospital and Instructor at Harvard Medical School will discuss 21st-century pot, its components, its harms, and its impact on youth. Dr.  Mashhoon will explain the effects on the adolescent brain, and related health issues such as addiction, mental health and latest research on physical and cognitive functioning

 John Sofis Scheft, Esq., Principal of Law Enforcement Dimensions, will explain what the medical marijuana law does and does not include: for what conditions can marijuana be  recommended? Who can use it as medicine? Who can provide a recommendation? Who can grow marijuana in their home? Atty. Scheft will also address best municipal practices to protect local public health and safety.
 James Broadhurst, M.D., a family physician also trained in sports and addiction medicine and delegate of Massachusetts Medical Society, will discuss the medical community’s perspective on medical marijuana. What do people need to know in considering marijuana as a medical treatment?
 Local authorities will explain initiatives in Wayland that address public health and safety related to marijuana.

This program is for the entire Wayland community.

Sponsored by WaylandCares and the Wayland High School Guidance Department Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 7:30 pm Wayland High School Auditorium

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Posted in MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Teens

Medfield Community Book Group

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Medfield Community Book Group

New Medfield FB group (click here to go to FB page) –

Medfield Community Book Group

Medfield Community Book Group

About

The Parent Network, Medfield Youth Outreach, and the Medfield Public Library have partnered to host the first in a series of book groups to promote acceptance and anti-bullying conversations. Join us and sign up now!
Description

The Parent Network, Medfield Youth Outreach, and the Medfield Public Library have partnered to host the first in a series of book groups to promote acceptance and anti-bullying conversations. Join us and sign up now!

Thursday, April 11th
7:00- 8:00pm
Medfield Public Library
Conference Room

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Posted in Schools, Teens

MYO brochure

Posted on December 19, 2012 | Comments Off on MYO brochure

One of Medfield’s treasures is the Medfield Youth Outreach, which does things both wonderful and and large, for a two person department.  After the Board of Selectmen meeting last night I picked up the new MYO brochure at the Town House.

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Posted in Children, Teens

MHS Jazz Band’s brochure

Posted on December 14, 2012 | Comments Off on MHS Jazz Band’s brochure

The Medfield High School Jazz Band, 2012-2013 edition, has a really cool, high quality brochure.

I got my copy from Chris McCue Potts at last night’s Blake Middle School concert, so I could pass it along to Representative Denise Garlick last night.  Chris is trying to get Governor Patrick to name the MHS Jazz Band as the “Honorary Massachusetts High School Jazz Band” for its spring trip to China.  Great idea.

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Posted in Cultural, Music, Schools, Teens

Parents more influential than schools on substance abuse

Posted on December 10, 2012 | Comments Off on Parents more influential than schools on substance abuse

This from the Medfield Youth Outreach office –

A new study concludes that parental involvement is more important than the school environment in preventing or limiting children’s use of alcohol or marijuana.

Researchers evaluated data from more than 10,000 students, parents, teachers and school administrators. They looked at “family social capital”—bonds between parents and children—as well as “school social capital”—a school’s ability to provide a positive environment for learning, Science Daily<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121204145553.htm> reports.

Measures of family social capital include trust, open communication and active engagement in a child’s life, while school social capital includes student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the teachers’ ability to address student needs.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” study co-author Dr. Toby Parcel of North Carolina State University said in a news release<http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wms-parcel-alcohol/>. “To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both.”

The researchers found students with high levels of family social capital and low school social capital levels were less likely to have used either marijuana or alcohol, or to have used them less frequently, compared with students with high levels of school social capital and low family social capital.

The study appears in Journal of Drug Issues<http://jod.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/11/08/0022042612462220>.

Medfield Youth Outreach
459 Main St.
Medfield, MA 02052
508-359-7121

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Posted in MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Safety, Schools, Teens