Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005 Source: Country Gazette (Milford, MA) Copyright: 2005 Community Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www2.townonline.com/bellingham/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3554 Author: Rick Holland, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Red+Ribbon Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) SOUTH ELEMENTARY CONTINUES ANTI-DRUG TRADITION BELLINGHAM - It's not reading, writing and 'rithmatic, but the lessons provided to kids at South Elementary during the last week of October that could be among the most valuable they'll ever learn. Last Friday marked the end of "Red Ribbon Week," a national campaign aimed at reaching kids in several classes - music, Spanish, health/physical education, and library - with drug prevention messages and activities. Of Bellingham's three elementary schools, South Elementary is the only one that observed Red Ribbon Week, a campaign that began nationwide 20 years ago, after Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was murdered in Mexico. Throughout the week in music class at South Elementary, students rehearsed songs with titles such as "Drug Free Me," and "Too Smart to Start," in preparation for a schoolwide performance. On Tuesday, after stormy weather knocked the lights out in the gym momentarily, Jean Woodford, a physical education teacher, sat in a circle with kids in the hallway and started an impromptu talk on what they can do to stay drug-free. From the mouths of several first-graders came accounts of parents or family members who smoked, some of whom do so inside the home. "You need to ask them politely to do that outside," said Woodford. She said she was not concerned about criticism from parents for doling out such candid advice. "I'm not bashful," Woodford said. In a session with Rosemarie Charland, the school librarian, kids wore bright-colored wristbands and were given bookmarks to keep, each bearing the message from a muscle-bound cartoon tiger: "I have the power to be DRUG-FREE!" Asked what he learned from an anti-smoking video featuring puppet characters, Wesley Antonucci, 6, said, "You should always say no to cigarettes." Even at their age, the students appeared to know the difference between harmful and helpful drugs. "Medicine is OK to take if you're sick," said Gabrielle Geronini, Wesley's classmate. "I've been here for 10 years, and I just really believe that when it comes to preventing drug abuse it's better to start that effort at an early age, even in kindergarten," said Mary Ann Teper, school psychologist at South Elementary. Studies appear to confirm Teper's philosophy, which is shared by Joan Peluso, the secretary at South who is co-coordinator of Red Ribbon Week at the school. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "more than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 15 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives." With many teen smokers reporting they took their first drag from a cigarette in fifth or sixth grade, talking to kids by the time they reach that age about smoking might prove to be too late, according to the Centers for Disease Control. "Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine, (and) the younger people start smoking cigarettes, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine," according to the CDC. "Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex." While such statistics may be sobering for parents, Teper said it's important not to use the information to frighten kids. "The hard part about teaching this subject matter to younger people, is that we don't want to scare them," said Teper. "So we stress what they need to do to stay healthy." Teper and Peluso's dedication to the program has been rewarded with consistent financial support for Red Ribbon Week from the South Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization. For kids as young as 7-year-old Harmony Dupre, the school's approach during the week-long campaign seems to be working. In a matter-of-fact tone, she said, "If I see a cigarette, I don't touch it." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake