Peggy Sapp said she learned a lot as principal for a day at South Miami K-8 Center. She received help from year-round Principal Anamarie Moreiras.

''I have great respect for the good work that educators perform in our community day in and day out,'' Sapp said. ``I was delighted not only to be able to learn more about the role a principal serves, but also to represent Informed Families.''

Sapp is president and CEO of Informed Families and volunteer president of the National Family Partnership. She is also one of the founders of the annual Florida Red Ribbon Campaign and is spearheading the National Red Ribbon Campaign in schools across America.

Held nationally each year in October, the movement works toward the creation of a drug-free America with participants wearing or displaying symbolic red ribbons as a call to action.

Now in its 24th year, the National Red Ribbon Campaign is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation. The week-long commemoration was launched in response to the 1985 death of Kiki Camarena, a DEA agent abducted and murdered by drug traffickers in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Principal for a Day program is a one-day event that puts business people in the shoes of public school principals. The program aims to develop long-term relationships between educators and local executives. It is chartered throughout the country by New York nonprofit organization Private Education Needs Civic Involvement in Education, also known as PENCIL.

Informed Families believes parents need skills and support during a child's teenage years and that parents are the agents who create healthy social norms in the communities. For more, go to informedfamilies.org or call 305-856-4886.

CAROLING COMPETITION

The 22nd annual Caroling Competition will begin the holiday celebrations in Coral Gables with six nights of free concerts on the steps of the 550 Biltmore Way Building. This year, for the first time, the competition is being presented by Holtz Children's Hospital.

''We are excited to have Holtz Children's Hospital join our family of sponsors,'' said Sally Baumgartner, executive director of the event.

''Our partnership gives the Caroling Competition another way to involve the choirs in the community and provides additional outreach possibilities for the schools to perform at the hospital during the holiday season,'' she said.

''It's all about children helping children, and in this case,'' she added, ``making the holidays special.''

The competition begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday and will continue nightly until Dec. 7 when performances will start at 3 p.m.

Choruses from six schools will perform each evening.

This year the competition involves 30 Miami-Dade public, private and parochial schools. There will be 20 cash awards. The winners will return for a short program and to accept awards on Dec. 9, beginning at 7 p.m. Jack Horkheimer, noted Star Gazer personality, is master of ceremonies.

The competition is one of the largest events in the Junior Orange Bowl Festival. The festival is celebrating 60 years as the world's largest youth festival. The signature parade is Dec. 30. For more, go to jrorangebowl.com.

SURVIVOR AND

CHAMPION

By going door-to-door and with her work with Yoplait Yogurt's fundraising campaigns, Miami breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory hopes to raise awareness about the disease she fought.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@