Pubdate: Thu, 21 Aug 2008
Source: Independent, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 Conolly Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.eastnorthumberland.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1596
Author: Paul Dalby

GRADE 9'S DRUG BLITZ

Young teenagers arriving next month for their first  taste of high
school at Campbellford will receive a  different kind of initiation --
a new drug awareness  course.

The new workshop, entitled "Positive Decisions,  Positive Choices",
targets 14 year-olds newly-arrived  at Campbellford District High School.

In previous years, drug education was not introduced  until later
grades but experts believe they must now  move much sooner to protect
students in their first  year at high school from a pervasive drug
culture.

"Kids going into Grade 9 are very vulnerable and  susceptible to peer
pressure and they probably haven't  had any exposure to drugs in
elementary school," said  Janice Allen, chair of the Trent Hills
community  policing committee.

"I was pretty shocked when our DARE officer told me  that any student
can buy cocaine on just about any  street corner," she said. A retired
teacher, Ms. Allen  has been a driving force behind the introduction
of the  new Grade 9 program -- funded in the coming school year  to
the tune of $3,500 by the Kawartha Pines Ridge  District School Board.

The course is the result of a combined effort of the  community
policing committee, the KPR Health Unit, the  KPR school board, the
Fourcast drug counseling agency,  the Rebound youth counseling agency
and the OPP's  D.A.R.E. program.

"The more information children have on an issue, the  more likely they
are to make a good decision," said  Nicola Crow, executive director of
Rebound.

Ms. Crow, acting as an expert resource for the new  Grade 9 workshop,
says the new course is a natural  follow-up to the D.A.R.E. program
already being offered  in elementary schools.

"We can provide some real support for not only the kids  but their
parents as well," she explained.

Parents and kids will receive the first drugs briefing  on Aug. 28 at
the CDHS Grade 9 orientation day.
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MAP posted-by: dan