MAKESHIFT BONGS SHOCK MOM

Anuschka de la Court's daughters are saving money for horse camp and
were extremely happy when they kept finding empty pop cans behind
their townhouse complex on Riverside Elementary School's eastside field.

Each can was worth five cents and would make horse camp that much
closer to becoming a reality.

But after a few weeks of collecting the pop cans while on the school
grounds with their mother, the girls' father noticed that each of the
cans had a burned hole in it.

"He asked, 'Anuschka, where did you get those cans?'" de la Court
said.

With a little investigation and after talking to a police officer who
lived in their neighbourhood, they realized the pop cans were being
used as makeshift bongs for smoking pot or perhaps hashish.

"I was shocked that for months my kids had been handling these pop
cans," de la Court said.

At first she was angry, then she was reflective and asked herself
"what can I do about this? What can I do as a mom so children won't
get hurt."

When her daughters, Alora, 11, and Kalina, 10, saw the pop cans in the
school yard, their only thought was that they could get some money.

"Ch-ching -- that's what they see," de la Court said. And not having
used drugs herself, de la Court hadn't realize the significance of the
burned holes.

de la Court started reading up on drugs and how they affect young
people, why youth feel they need to use drugs and other information
she feels empowers her to be aware of drug culture, for example, the
types of drugs being used and what names they're called. She was
"shocked" when she started reading about all the different types of
drugs "out there."

"It blew my mind."

The book that really caught her attention was How to Raise a Drug-Free
Kid by Joseph A. Califano. Not only did she write a review on her
blog, she started thinking about organizing a parent education evening
and has since learned that there is even course material available
based on the book that parents can learn from.

de la Court wants to hold an information session through her church,
Discovery Church of Ridge Meadows, which runs out of Colleen Findlay
Place, to help parents get educated about drugs and how to keep their
children safe.

"The more education there is out there, hopefully the less kids will
be in this problem," de la Court said.

At Riverside, which is slated to be closed this September due to low
enrolment, school staff scan the playground and school grounds every
day for dangerous paraphernalia, said Riverside principal Tanya
Dailey, and she personally does a walkabout every morning. (The de la
Court family found the pop cans at the periphery of the school's
eastside field.)

Dailey said safety is the number one priority at Riverside and at
assemblies, staff focus on making students aware of things that are
unsafe.

"We need to be teaching kids when they see something unsafe, they
bring it to a parent," Dailey said. "Our kids are really good at
saying, 'Mrs. Dailey, this is here.'"

The school tries to be proactive and the staff and students have been
working a lot in the community to raise awareness about safety and
vandalism.

"It's really sad that we have to walk around to make sure it's safe,"
Dailey said.

Dailey said she wants to be proactive about keeping her school safe
and she planned to contact the school liaison officer about pop cans.