DARE GRADS READY TO SAY NO TO DRUGS

Just say no.

That's what Raymer elementary school Grade 5 student Ryan Karoly will
always tell his friends when it comes to doing drugs and alcohol.

The phrase has been coined for decades but has not lost its relevance
for a group of 42 students at Raymer.

If drugs and alcohol ever had an alluring edge in the minds of these
students, it doesn't anymore.

"I'll never smoke or do drugs or anything like that," said Karoly,
convinced through the facts and evidence presented to him throughout
the course to stay away from substance use.

On March 15, Karoly along with the rest of his classmates graduated
from DARE, the drug abuse resistance program sponsored by the school
district, after 10 weeks of education on different issues related to
drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Classmate Madison Roberts says the most important thing she learned
had to do with dealing with peer pressure and how to respond to it.

"It will help me make good decisions in the future," said Erik Mason,
agreeing with Roberts.

It is not likely that many of the students have already experienced
social or health situations resulting from exposure to drugs and
alcohol, said teacher Melody Carr.

But providing the education and increasing the awareness at this age
is a proactive, preventative approach, she said.

Students were informed about an array of drugs including marijuana,
tobacco and crystal methamphetamine and the consequences related to
each.

"It's definitely age appropriate. Kids are seeing it in the TV
advertisements they see and the music and movies they watch. It's all
there,"said Carr.

The kids went through a workbook and engaged in a variety of
activities from role simulations to writing essays to increase their
awareness.

Once a week an RCMP constable spent an hour educating and talking to
the students about different issues related to drugs and alcohol.

Raymer is one of several schools that were offered the program across
the school district.