Red Ribbon Week | Positivity Flows at Marengo Elementary

Marengo Elementary School views Red Ribbon Week as a time for students to focus on being kind to themselves by making healthy choices, when it comes to food, exercise, and treating others kindly

PHOTO: Marengo Elementary | SouthPasadenan.com News | As a way to bring exercise into making healthy choices, students at Marengo on Monday took a mile-long walk through neighborhoods around the campus

South Pasadena schools are celebrating healthy choices during Red Ribbon Week.

Red Ribbon Week is a time when many of the nation’s schools, including those in South Pasadena, focus on eating healthy foods, exercising and “making good choices by surrounding yourself with friends and getting involved with team activities,” explained Holly Lang, a second grade teacher at Marengo Elementary School. “It all leads up to building up your confidence – because a confident person makes good choices.”

The week is also designed for making healthy choices.

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PHOTO: Marengo Elementary | SouthPasadenan.com News | As a way to bring exercise into making healthy choices, students at Marengo on Monday took a mile-long walk through neighborhoods around the campus

Marengo kicked off a weeklong of activities with a one-mile walk through neighborhoods surrounding the school, as students were encouraged to wear red, the color symbolizing Red Ribbon Week. Many carried signs encouraging motorists to honk if they are healthy.

Apparently they are, as the sounds of horns welcomed the onslaught of kids moving down the sidewalks.

During recess, Marengo’s PTA will provided healthy snacks and fun exercises to keep the students busy throughout the week.

In many parts of the country, Red Ribbon Week is considered a national drug education and prevention week and has been celebrated since 1986 when a Drug Enforcement Agent was kidnapped and killed for coming close to breaking up a drug cartel in Mexico.

To honor this heroic agent, and to demonstrate their commitment to drug and alcohol prevention, family members and friends began wearing red ribbons.

Since 1986, the National Family Partnership has adopted this week to raise awareness about keeping children drug-free. Each year, more and more communities and schools across America use this week to educate and promote drug-free living, often inviting guest speakers to give presentations.

PHOTO: Marengo Elementary | SouthPasadenan.com News | As a way to bring exercise into making healthy choices, students at Marengo on Monday took a mile-long walk through neighborhoods around the campus

Each year Red Ribbon Week is held from October 23-31.