Click here for the Winter 2025/2026 Spotlight Newsletter PDF

Winter 25/26 Edition

Check out the latest from the San Bernardino County Friday Night Live (FNL) Program!

In this issue…

  • San Bernardino County Youth Council
  • Red Ribbon Week
  • SEL Conference 2025
  • Wins and Milestones
  • Chapter Spotlight
  • Community Corner
Girls smiling with shiny cd background

San Bernardino Youth Council (SBCYC)

A group of young adults smile and pose

Youth Council (from left to right): Dayanara Penaloza, Gracie Juarez, Christian Corondo, Jairo Suarez, Damian Delgado, Cali Kigar

Introducing our 2025 Youth Council!

Friday Night Live (FNL) is excited to introduce its first-ever San Bernardino County Youth Council (SBCYC), a group of young leaders chosen to represent their communities across San Bernardino County. As members of this year’s Youth Council, these individuals were able to showcase strong leadership skills by taking part in planning and leading Friday Night Live’s Second
Annual Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Conference.

Youth Council members participated in choosing this year’s conference theme and message to ensure the event reflected the real needs and experiences of FNL youth. While planning the conference, they were able to practice important skills like event planning and time management. They also strengthened their communication and advocacy skills by sharing their ideas and
making decisions from a youth standpoint to create a meaningful an impactful event for their peers.

San Bernardino Youth Council (SBCYC)

FNL leader holds up a paper while holding a mic.

Youth Summit 2025

Youth Summit is a two-day conference hosted by the California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP). The event brings together young people from Friday Night Live chapters to meet new people, learn new skills, and take action on issues that affect their communities. This year, members of the San Bernardino County Youth Council (SBCYC) had the chance to create and lead their own workshop. This workshop was a great platform for the members to talk about their own experiences and awareness efforts among other youth. Council members also joined other workshops that helped them connect with FNL youth from across the state.

By presenting and after attending the Youth Summit, SBCYC members utilized important skills like public speaking, leadership, teamwork, and communication. They also learned more about
substance use prevention and making healthy choices. Overall, this experience helped strengthen their voices and encouraged them to speak up for change and take on leadership roles in future projects at their schools and in their communities.

Red Ribbon Week

A red cup says "Life is a Puzzle, Solve it drug free"
Two girls take a photo with a frame that says, "solve life drug free!" red ribbon week.
Young students are tabling at event.
Two young students table at an event.

FNL proudly joined schools and communities across the county to celebrate Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s longest-running drug prevention campaign. Throughout the week, FNL chapters led fun and meaningful activities that encouraged healthy choices, promoted drugfree lifestyles, and helped students take an active role in making their schools safe and supportive places.

This year’s theme, “Life’s a Puzzle, Solve It Drug Free,” inspired FNL chapters to connect more with their school communities through awareness booths. These booths gave students a safe space to learn about substance use, practice saying no to drugs, and explore healthy activities that support mental and emotional well-being. Students also shared pledges, helpful resources, and activities that started conversations about making smart and healthy choices. These efforts helped bring students together and showed that staying drug-free supports both personal goals and the health of the entire school community.

San Bernardino County Friday Night Live is proud of the hard work, energy, and leadership shown by its youth members during Red Ribbon Week. Their efforts continue to inspire positive
change and help create schools where students feel confident, supported, and ready to make healthy choices for their future.

Red Ribbon Week 2025 Participants

Elementary Schools
  • Levi Dickey Elementary School
  • Bonnie Oehl Elementary School
  • Valley Preparatory School
Middle Schools
  • Mesa View Middle School
  • Magnolia Jr. High School
High Schools
  • Pacific High School
  • A.B. Miller High School
  • Green Valley High School
  • Oak View High School

SEL Conference 2025

San Bernardino County Friday Night Live hosted its 2nd Annual Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Conference at the University of Redlands. The event brought together youth for a fun and inspiring day of learning, connection, and personal growth. This year’s Y2K theme mixed early 2000s style with meaningful conversations about building strong relationships, supporting communities, and understanding how social and emotional health helps prevent alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and other drug use.

This year, the San Bernardino County Youth Council (SBCYC) played a big role in making the conference happen. They helped plan the event, served as emcees, and supported activities throughout the day. A highlight of this event was their workshop, “Peer Support: Kindness Is Contagious.” During this session, attendees learned how kindness, empathy,
and supporting one another can help build stronger and healthier communities.

The conference helped create a space where everyone felt seen, valued, and supported. It also gave Youth Council members hands-on experience working with other students and leading conversations that helped peers better understand themselves and their choices.

Throughout the event, students joined interactive workshops that focused on important topics they face today. Sessions on healthy relationships helped youth learn how to build positive connections, communicate clearly, and understand boundaries that protect their emotional well-being. The conference also included discussions about social media, encouraging students to think about their online habits, social pressure, and how technology can affect self-esteem, mental health, and decision-making. There was also an interactive session where parents and staff were able to discuss the dangers of opioid abuse and share insight on strategies to prevent opioid use.

Another part of the conference was the vendor and resource fair, which featured many community partners and organizations from San Bernardino County. Each group shared helpful information and resources with students. Attendees had the chance to talk directly with vendors and learn about programs and services available in their communities. FNL would like to thank all the vendors who gave their time and support to help educate and support youth.

The SEL Conference was both a learning experience and a chance to build youth leadership. Students left the conference feeling inspired, supported, and ready to use new tools to support their well-being at school and in their personal lives. San Bernardino County Friday Night Live looks forward to continuing this event and supporting youth education, leadership growth, and community connections—one empowered young person at a time.

Wins and Milestones

Leadership: (Back row) Aiden Baek, Ian Wesson, Dakota Dymond, Karis Schoepflin, Ailene Auger, Charlie Black, Michael Suiter, Sofia Elsaadi, Ava Cardwell, Eden Harmelink, (Front row) Isadora Record, Chase Miller, Joy Wesson, Amalia Zhigimont, Arden Chandra Chapter Advisor: Angel Reyes

Congratulations

To Valley Preparatory Academy for successfully hosting their own Social Emotional Learning event on campus. The event, called “Lion Forum,” was carefully planned and led by Mr. Reyes’ FNL Leadership class. It created a strong space for students to learn and reflect. The event focused on emotional well-being and how it connects to substance use. Students learned why it is important to understand and manage their emotions, build healthy identities, and recognize how their words and actions can affect others.

The Lion Forum included fun and interactive activities, meaningful skits, and engaging games, all led by the FNL chapter. Friday Night Live is very proud of this group for stepping up, using their voices, and making a positive difference for their peers and the entire school community.

Chapter Spotlight

Trona High School

Friday Night Live is excited to announce that we are now expanding our program across the county. We had the chance to work with students from Trona Unified School District to host an event focused on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD). The event included a powerful student-led presentation and a hands-on alcohol awareness activity. These committed students played a big part in making the event a success, and FNL was proud to support them with educational resources and activity materials. Trona High School will officially start its Friday Night Live program early next year, and we are excited to support to more communities in San Bernardino County.

Apple Valley High School

Apple Valley High School FNL started in November 2025 and has already shown strong student leadership by hosting their own activity day open to all students on campus. This chapter’s primary focus is on substance use prevention through the lens of mental health. Through their activities, the club’s goal is to educate students about self-care, managing emotions, and how
social media can affect mental health. Right now, the chapter is getting ready for their first Club Rush to recruit new members and is excited to make an impact on campus. Stay tuned!

Community Corner

Start Smart Program

Are you between the ages of 15 and 19 and looking to obtain your driver’s license? Start Smart is a free downloadable app designed to educate newly licensed or soon-to-be-licensed teenage drivers. Through the program, CHP officers will have real, honest conversations with you and your parents about things like how to avoid crashes, the dangers of speeding, driving under the influence (DUI), and distractions while driving (yes, that means texting too). You’ll also learn why seat belts matter, how to handle passengers, and what to do if you’re ever in an accident.
This free, two-hour program is usually held at a local California Highway Patrol (CHP) office, and it’s all about keeping you safe on the road. If you are interested, download the application in the Apple or Android app store.

Soluna

San Bernardino County Friday Night Live wants you to put yourself first, and Soluna is here to help. Soluna is a free mental health app for teens and young adults (ages 13–24) that you can use anytime, anywhere. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or just need someone to talk to? Soluna makes it easy to get support. You can chat live with a coach, learn self-care tools for stress, mindfulness, and emotions, get advice for everyday life, and have a safe space to check in and build healthy habits. Taking care of your mental health is an important step, and you don’t have to do it alone. You deserve to be heard. Download Soluna from the Apple or Android app store.