Port Jeff Peer Leadership Training
Dozens of Earl. L Vandermeulen High School students took part in a full
day of training about the health effects of vaping and nicotine. Taught
by Bonnie Anderson and John Martin, educators from the Suffolk County
Department of Health’s Office of Health Education, the peer education,
interactive format will help these student leaders share the lessons
they learned to other students in both the high school and Port
Jefferson Middle School.
The students viewed a Powerpoint presentation, were educated on the
negative effects of electronic cigarettes, refusal skill development,
learned about resources they can share and worked together to create
improvisational vignettes, which they will continue to practice and
refine to be ready to present to their peers.
“The more we educate our students, the more empowered they are to make
positive decisions,” school social worker Kristin Britt said.