By Tim Leeds
Power 2000 students at Havre Central have been working on anti-tobacco team spirit.
Ten Havre Central Junior High students worked all year to promote non-use of tobacco products in young people, culminating in a drawing held at the Havre Central basketball tournament.
Havre Central Principal Theresa Cowdery said that she approached students in grades six, seven and eight last fall about applying for a grant to use in an anti-smoking campaign.
The team met once every Friday to plan activities and events under adult supervision, Cowdery said.
She said the team of students attended a student council meeting to inform them of the team's activities and to ask for support. The team also met with the Havre Central Booster Club to obtain permission and ask for support, she said.
The students had to write the grant proposal for D.A.R.E. funds, Cowdery said. She said they were awarded a $500 grant for their cause.
Cowdery said one of the group's first jobs was to choose a name. After hearing many suggestions, she said, the students chose "Power 2000" as the best name.
Cowdery said the students were involved in many activities the rest of the year. She said they promoted tobacco-free living, and made "tobacco free" posters which were displayed in the Havre Central Gym.
The team also designed and bought T-shirts with the grant money to promote their cause, Cowdery said. The shirts are black with "Power 2000," their school name, "tobacco busters" and the student's name on them, she said.
She said the students found wearing the shirts each day that they met effectively promoted their cause to their fellow students.
The Power 2000 group also made all of the necessary arrangements to hold an anti-smoking poster contest in grades three through eight, Cowdery said. She said they purchased supplies, judged the posters, purchased prizes, presented the prizes at the pep assembly before the tournament, and displayed the posters in the gym over the weekend.
Cowdery said the students also purchased a camera to record their activities, which was a requirement for the grant.
The program ended with the Power 2000 students working a booth at the tournament, Cowdery said. She said the students were at he booth the entire tournament, encouraging students to be tobacco-free. Students who would sign a pledge to remain tobacco-free were entered into a drawing held at half-time, she said.
She said the students purchased D.A.R.E basketballs to use for the drawings, and a regulation size basketball for the grand prize.
Cowdery said that there is still some of the grant money available after the team's purchases. Their next project is to decide how to use those funds, she said. She said the students are considering celebrating their success with fellow students by planning an evening activity.
