Catch up on what happened this week in Shamong.
Sun Editorial: Should the state implement depression screening for teens?
Backers of Assembly Bill 3926 say the number of kids and teens hospitalized for suicidal thoughts and attempts doubled from 2008 to 2015; some 50 percent of adolescents with depression aren’t diagnosed before adulthood; and as many as two in three don’t get the help they need.
Their ideas to help include implementing annual screening for depression for students in grades seven through 12. A school official, such as a counselor, would ask students a couple of questions. If the results indicate the student might be struggling, his or her parents would be notified. The American Academy of Pediatrics has supported screening kids 12 and older.
What are your thoughts? Should the state implement depression screening for teens? Should it look elsewhere for a solution? Send a letter to the editor with your thoughts to news@shamongsun.com.
The first annual 2018 Sock Drive is under way at Indian Mills Memorial School
Megan Szelc, one of the two advisors for IMMS student council (the other being Diana Haas), introduced the “2018 Sock Drive.”
This idea formed after a conference last year where Szelc and students of the middle school were encouraged to start a project to collect socks for the homeless. Szelc said socks are the №1 need for the homeless population.
“We figured, what’s better than starting one in our own school and serving the Philadelphia area as well as those in need from the recent hurricanes that happened down south?” Szelc said.
The full story can be found here.
LRHSD received CAP scholarship and annual safety reports
The CAP Scholarship from the Lenape Regional Foundation provides district students the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school.
Superintendent Carol Birnbohm explained CAP is a partnership between LRHSD, Rowan College of Burlington County, and Rowan University, where students can earn college credit for high school courses that have been approved by the college as being college eligible. She stated that last year more than 1,300 students earned more than 10,000 college credits in one school year.
President of the Lenape Regional Foundation, Ed O’Malley, presented a check to the foundation for $30,000 to grant more students access to the program.
The full story can be found here.
