DARE TO SAY NO TO DRUGS

If they are ever asked to smoke, take illicit drugs or participate in
gang violence, chances are this group of young DARE graduates will be
able to resist. Last Wednesday, 21 Grade Six students from Immaculate
Conception School who took classes of instruction from RCMP Cst.
Debbie Medcke, proudly received their graduation certificates at a
special ceremony.

The DARE (Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education) program of ten
one-hour sessions covers various topics around drug and alcohol
resistance. Students learned valuable skills on how to respond to
many types of situations in life, said Immaculate Conception
principal Donncha O'Callaghan.

"This is such a valuable and worthwhile program. Cst. Medcke has done
a tremendous job with these students," he said.

For her part, Medcke thinks the program is a valuable tool for school children.

"This is my first time teaching this DARE program, but I think we
will be doing it in more schools in the future. Basically, what we do
is try to encourage kids to make good, healthy choices," she said.
"We encourage them to say no to drugs and be able generally to resist
peer pressure." The event was attended by the Superintendent of
Catholic Independent Schools Raymond Noonan, Chair of School Council,
Sean Neary and several local RCMP officers. The DARE mascot also made
a special appearance.

As well, students Emily Der, Ashton Ghuman and Erika Morris presented
essay readings of what the program meant to them. The Immaculate
Conception School D.A.R.E. 2006 graduates are Katherine Aydon, Carley
Budac, Nate Cassie, Emily Der, Cheona Edzerza, Jari Errickson, Ashton
Ghuman, Robbie Graydon, Nolan Hanson, Ricky Jhander, Aaron Letendre,
Bradley Matte, Justin Merz, Luke Moore, Erika Morris, Liam Neary,
Jennifer Noonan, Nolan Schwab, Jordan Scott, Adam Wagner, Kyler Wilkinson.