Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2004
Source: Wynyard Advance Gazette (CN SN)
Copyright: 2004 The Advance Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wynyardadvance.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2159

DARE GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD AT WYNYARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Wynyard Advance Gazette -- Constable Allana Graham welcomed invited guests 
to the DARE graduation ceremony held at Wynyard Elementary School on the 
morning of June 10. This was Constable Graham's first time as an instructor 
for the DARE program.

"Today's ceremony is an important part of the curriculum designed to let 
the students show what they have learned and to acknowledge their 
participation," said Constable Graham.

"DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is a collaborative 
effort by law enforcement, educators and the community to prevent drug 
abuse and violence in children and youth. DARE helps students recognize and 
resist the many pressures that influence them to experiment with drugs, 
alcohol and violence," Constable Graham stated.

The DARE program focuses on feelings relating to self esteem, interpersonal 
and communication skills, decision making and positive alternatives to drug 
abuse behavior.

Lessons were held once a week for 45 minutes in Mrs. Tarasoff's grade 6 
classroom for 17 weeks.

During each lesson, students participated in cooperative learning 
activities designed to encourage them to overcome problems of major 
importance and to learn how to deal with situations in a positive way.

The students had the opportunity to perform skits utilizing the values they 
had learned during the program.

All of the skits created a scenario involving drugs, bullying and violence.

In skit number one, a male student is smoking pot in the principal's car. 
Other students, friends of the pot smoker tried to persuade him not to 
continue, he refuses to listen and gets "busted" by the RCMP. The students 
then show the audience the positive outcome of taking the road that leads 
to no drug use. The students end up being a good student with a future 
bright and wide.

Dylan Hundstad read his essay aloud to the guests and received a medal for 
doing a terrific job of explaining what DARE means to him. Kelsey Kowalyk 
was also asked to read her essay.

Skit number 2 showed the audience what the students had learned in the 
different ways to say no. A student didn't want to go to a party with her 
friends, in an attempt to persuade their friend to go, they bully her, push 
her around but she doesn't give in. She has decided that she will stay home 
instead of going to the party, despite what her "friends" think of her.

Group three performance included a narrator who explained the actions of 
the actors as they portrayed different ways that people bully . The last 
skit showed a journalist who would lose his job if he didn't get one more 
great story. As he was standing on a bridge, contemplating jumping off a 
lawyer approached him . He explained to the journalist that he had lost 
three cases that day and would like to jump off the bridge as well. As the 
two men were about to jump they were interrupted by a young lady who 
thought she had seen aliens, and a soccer player with one leg who had been 
kicked off the team because of her disability. The journalist suggested 
that they all jump off the bridge together on the count of three. On three 
everyone jumped except the journalist who walked away happy because he had 
just got the one great story he needed to keep his job. Judging by the 
audience's laughter, the skit appealed to everyone's funny side.

The ceremony also included words of praise and wisdom from Principal 
Fisher, and the Grade 6 teacher, Mrs. Edie Tarasoff.

Constable Graham thanked local businesses for their part in the DARE 
program. These businesses include Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, 
Wynyard Legion, Peppertree Restaurant, Cornerstone Credit Union, Grummett 
Motors, Wynyard and District Kinsmen, Wynyard Elementary School Council, 
Wynyard Composite High School.

Devin Lunney and Brea Lowenberger were asked to join the grade 6 class 
during the graduation.

Brea and Devin were recommended by their principal as positive role models 
in the community. They spent an hour in the grade 6 class answering 
student's questions and discussing the positive alternatives they have 
chosen instead of getting involved in drugs and alcohol. The ceremony 
concluded with an invitation for the grade 6 class to stay and have pizza 
for lunch.
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