PARENTS FACE SCHOOLYARD REALITIES

Parents have to be aware that their children are facing more than just math
or science problems every day at school.

That was the message delivered by three keynote speakers at the recent
District Parent Advisory Council's (DPAC) monthly meeting in Salmon Arm.

"The speakers provided some information on what our kids faced with every
day and how they can get through each and every day safely," said DPAC
president Teri Sinclair.

Armstrong's Pleasant Valley Secondary School principal Greg Kitchen talked
about the use of drugs and alcohol by school students.

Salmon Arm RCMP Cpl. Harley Belt touched on a number of safety issues for
students, and family life teacher Cathi Johnson spoke on sexuality education.

Kitchen, a big fan of country and western movies, likened the drugs and
alcohol situation to the Clint Eastwood flick, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

As far as the good goes, Kitchen said a student getting caught with drugs
can be a positive, based on the school district's policies.

"The kids don't believe getting caught is good, but if they're caught, they
get suspended for up to five days the first time," said Kitchen. "If
they're caught again, the suspension is much longer. And when a student is
suspended, part of the agreement for returning to school is they have to
meet with a drug and alcohol counsellor.

"Our school district has excellent drug and alcohol policies. We also have
great community resources, like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), the RCMP, and
counselling."

The bad includes an increase of marijuana issues and suspensions, how kids
are getting the money, like stealing to pay for drugs and alcohol, along
with mixed messages in the media.

And Kitchen got the attention of the 50 parents in attendance when he
talked about the ugly, particularly when he mentioned that crystal
methadone, or crystal meth, a popular drug among teens, was prevalent at
parties known as raves.

Crystal meth, he said, can get into a person's system simply by touching
hands, and that dealers will wear plastic gloves, dip their hand into the
meth, and then touch a rave-goer.

Crystal meth, said Belt, during his talk, is making its way to the Shuswap.

"It may already be produced here," said Belt. "It's extremely easy to
produce. It's like Drano. That's what goes into the kids' bodies. Our kids
are being targeted by drug dealers because they're the future."

Belt also touched on topics like abductions and assaults, and bullying, and
encouraged parents to interact daily with their kids.

"The safety of the kids is directly related to how we interact, how you
show your interest," he said. "Find out what they're involved with, how
they're socializing. If you don't ask, you won't know."

Johnson said she deals mostly with average normal kids when she goes into
the classes to talk about sexuality.

She said there are a lot of wrong assumptions about teens and their sexuality.

"The assumptions include all students are sexually active or all student
are not sexually active," said Johnson. "All sex is consentual, all
sexually active students have intercourse, all are heterosexual and that
all active students come from traditional families."

Johnson told the audience that parents do not get enough credit for
teaching their kids about the birds and bees.

"Don't sell yourself short," she said. "The kids in this district are
great. They want the sexual knowledge. They are showing great
responsibility in that area."