D.A.R.E. taught students to denounce drugs

Over the past 10 weeks, Grades 5 and 6 students at Elijah Smith Elementary School have learned about making decisions, the resulting consequences and how to deal with peer pressure when faced with choices around using substances like drugs, alcohol and smoking.

Over the past 10 weeks, Grades 5 and 6 students at Elijah Smith Elementary School have learned about making decisions, the resulting consequences and how to deal with peer pressure when faced with choices around using substances like drugs, alcohol and smoking.

As the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program came to an end at the school this week, parents, teachers, school officials and RCMP officers gathered for the Grade 5 ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

The students received certificates, T-shirts and other prizes for their work.

Overseeing the event was the Whitehorse RCMP’s youth liaison officer, Const. Dwayne Latham, who went into the classrooms to deliver the program.

Rather than stating what he aimed to teach the students though, Latham invited four students (two from each of the classes) to read their D.A.R.E. reports during the half-hour event.

“I’ve learned why to say no to drugs,“ Janelle Clethero said as she read her essay.

Like the three other students who presented their pieces, she noted smoking tobacco and marijuana can lead to cancer.

Alcohol, she said, not only hurts the user but also may hurt those around them.

“My choice is not to smoke tobacco (and/or) marijuana or to drink alcohol,“ Clethero said.

Others had other reasons for not smoking, like the way it can make things smell.

Brandon Jan argued: “It’s disgusting when people choose to put poisons in their body.“

Each cigarette has 200 poisons in it, Joshua Van Bibber read from his essay.

It’s not cool to drink alcohol, Ehsa Nidrees told those gathered at the ceremony.

In learning why they shouldn’t smoke, drink or do drugs, the students also learned how they can deal with peer pressure when they’re presented with it.

There are many ways to avoid those situations, Jan said, pointing out he can use humour, change the subject or simply say no.

He then vowed to be “smoke- and drug-free” for the rest of his life.

In addition to selecting four students to read their essays, Latham also offered praise to the student in each class that had scored highest on the quiz held at the end of the session: Sruthi Tadepalli and Marcus McLeod, who both scored 29 points out of a possible 30.

All the students who read their essays were given prizes along with Sruthi Tadepalli and Marcus McLeod, who scored 29 points out of a possible 30 on the year end quiz.

While the four readers and Tadepalli and McLeod were recognized for their individual efforts, each of the students in the two classes received a T-shirt, certificate and a draw prize for their efforts. The prizes ranged from stickers to water bottles, and many others bearing the D.A.R.E. logo.

Along with the event yesterday, student Kelly-Ann Munroe noted her favourite part of the session was watching a movie where four kids ended up going somewhere with some “bad guys”.

Latham noted the program wouldn’t be possible without the partnerships among the Department of Education, the RCMP, teachers, parents and students.

Over the year, Latham has been delivering seven D.A.R.E. courses to four local schools.

After the formal ceremony, students had their pictures taken with Latham and celebrated by sharing a cake.