STUDENTS DARED TO LEARN ABOUT DRUG EFFECTS

Drugs can have a resounding negative impact on people's lives.
Luckily, for some local area students, they've learned about the
effects early on.

Caledonia Park elementary school's sixth grade class graduated from
the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program June 12. The
ceremony focused on preventing drugs from entering the kids' lives.

"D.A.R.E. is important because it teaches kids life lessons," Grade 6
teacher Lexi Golinsky said. "They're always going to be faced with
difficult decisions with drugs and alcohol."

Tobacco, marijuana and alcohol are the three main areas of focus in
the D.A.R.E. program, as they're seen as the most likely substances
that pre-teens will see.

"They're introduced to situations involving these drugs, and had to
practice their skills in decision-making," said Const. Josee Smith of
the Leduc RCMP.

"Questions such as how am I going to handle it when it's offered to me?"

The program involves the police, the schools and the students'
parents in an effort to teach students the skills they will need
moving forward in their lives.

"When it's going to happen, you want them to be prepared," Smith said.

Smith, who is also the school resource officer for the Leduc area,
explained that some of the 11 and 12-year-olds found out refusing
fellow classmates can be difficult.

"They had a hard time in class, even saying no to their friends,"
Smith said. "It's obvious that saying no to our friends isn't always easy."

Students kept journal entries throughout the program and in order to
graduate they had to write a one-page essay.

Some of those essays were featured in the graduation, as well as
skits showcasing what they have learned from the program.

"They learn the consequences and see all the angles which you don't
think about when you're being offered (drugs or alcohol) for the
first time," Smith said.

"All of this is about peer pressure and how to get out of bad or
risky situations," she said. "In the program they've already faced it."

Seeing their faces when they learn some of the statistics regarding
smoking is good evidence on the impact as well, Golinsky said.

"They're at that age where peer pressure is really starting to become
an issue and they're very vulnerable to older kids and their
opinions," Golinsky said. "Going into junior high is a big thing."

D.A.R.E. has been operating since 1983.