Battling both bullying and drug use among youth, Nashua students took part in "prevention week" presentations at Fairgrounds Middle School on Tuesday afternoon.

Actors visiting from the
Boston-based theater troupe Urban Improv performed a series of interactive scenes about bullying and cyberbullying for sixth-graders, centered around the use of social media. "This always comes up with this age group, but when it comes up in the school, we handle it well," said Kristine Turcotte, teacher and adviser for the Students Against Destructive Decision chapter at Fairgrounds.

The actor/educators from Urban Improv included Tory Bulluck, Melissa Carubia, Merle Perkins, Kevin Smith and Veronica Wells. With more than 100 sixth-graders in the audience, the actors fostered participation by pulling students into scenes and asking about their experiences with social media and bullying.

"We’re not looking for the right answer, we’re looking for the real answer," Smith said to students.

With a show of hands, the majority of students indicated they spend more than two hours on social media each day, and nearly all of them have felt misunderstood by others while communicating on social media. About two dozen students raised their hands after Carubia asked whether they have had personal information about them shared online against their wishes.

In that vein, the group acted out a scene in which a fight between friends leads to an embarrassing video of one of them being passed around online.

Smith emphasized the consequences of bullying peers, which can lead to feelings of isolation or, in worse cases, suicidal thoughts and actions. He encouraged students to seek support with friends or adults if they experience any of those feelings, saying, "I hope there is someone in your life you feel like you can talk to."

Material was broken down by grade level, with sixth-graders focusing on bullying, and older students on drug-use prevention, said Turcotte.

Aside from reaching out to parents through the PTO, the district launched SADD chapters at the three middle schools this year, she said. Funding for SADD and the Tuesday improv presentation was provided by the Nashua Prevention Coalition and DonorsChoose.org.

Superintendent Mark Conrad said the new SADD chapters at the middle and high schools have gone well so far. "I think it’s a wonderful thing, it goes back to the middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey – we saw very clearly in the survey results, the two effective ways to make a difference in the lives of students is having positive peer influence and parent influence," Conrad said, noting the SADD chapters bolster the positive peer influence aspect. "SADD is an important strategy, and it will take time, but it’s off to a good start," he said.

Fairgrounds Middle School Principal Sharon Coffey watched part of the presentation Tuesday. "It was excellent; what I saw was right on, and when teachers were leaving the gym I got the ‘thumbs up’ from them," Coffey said.

More information about Urban Improv is available online at urbanimprov.org. Prevention week events continue Wednesday evening with "High and Seek," an interactive presentation of a staged teenage bedroom hosted at Nashua High School South, meant for adults 21 and older. Parents will be led through the demo room, which will include dozens of clues about drug use and risky behavior. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Tina Forbes can be reached at 594-6402, tforbes@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_TinaF.

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