Dear Students,

Please access the below information and links during the extended 1st block on Wednesday, November 14.

Partners in Prevention is excited to introduce you to Mind Your Melon, a new campaign for Wayzata High School students. The campaign will focus on brain development to help you truly understand how much control you have over your brain health and to empower you to take care of your melons.

Some of the topics will include: parts of the brain that regulate emotion and impact behavior, building blocks to healthy brain development, mental wellness and mindfulness, the impact substances have on brain growth, and addiction as a disease.

On Wednesday, November 14, all students will be watching a short video as an introduction to the campaign, specifically introducing three points:

1. Your brains are still developing! The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which houses decision making and judgment doesn't fully develop for girls until 22 and for boys until 25.
2. Decisions you make today will directly impact the way your brains wire and fire for the rest of your lives. Teens have control over things they do that both positively and negatively impact their brain development. Introducing chemicals (nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, etc.) into the brain as it is developing can cause permanent changes to its structure and reward system, increasing the chances of developing a full blown addiction.
3. There are lots of ways to Mind Your Melon! Get enough sleep, surround yourself with positive people, ask for help when you need it, avoid feeding the brain chemicals (nicotine, alcohol, etc.).

Please complete this brief survey to help us get an understanding for your baseline knowledge about brain development. The survey is anonymous and will not be linked to any username. The information will help us determine what facts about brain development we need to explore with students.

This survey will be kept confidential and will be used to help improve our student support services at WHS. Your username is required to limit each student to responding one time. No identifying information is captured unless you provide your name at the end of the survey.