The grade 5 graduates of the D.A.R.E. program were ready to take on the world of today. Some wished for peace while some did their best Donald Trump impersonation.

Hub Staff

The culmination of 10 thought provoking lessons taught by Saugeen Shores Constable Ken Cook through the D.A.R.E. program, saw the grade 5 students at St. Joseph’s school celebrate with a D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony, May 18.

D.A.R.E., once known as Drug Awareness and Resistance Education, is now, after a rebranding, known as Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate. Cook said the program changed around five years ago, to focus on life skills and help with situations in which children can find themselves.
“One of the main focusses that I really like is the class about communication,” said Cook after the ceremony.

“A lot of times [children] don't know how to deal with things in an appropriate manner. Not to say the parents aren’t doing a great job, but we’ve kind of taken that a step further and explained how they can do things. And in class we have demonstrated what it looks like when you're not doing it right,” Cook said.

The communication class teaches students about confident communication. They work on how to be an active listener, learn how important it is to project confidence while communicating. Other classes focus on bullying, peer pressure, with just one class focussed specifically on drugs and alcohol.

“I think this program is at the right age. They're at that level where they're starting to get introduced to bits of things, and [D.A.R.E.] gives them the tools to cope with that stuff,” said Cook.

In order to graduate, students were asked to write a short essay about what they had learned during the D.A.R.E. program. Three students’ essays were highlighted during the ceremony, with Patrick Rinn, Anderson Lever and Taysia Light’s essays being chosen.

Student Taysia read hers to the class. Her essay “dared” her peers to act positively in stressful situations and talked about how to say no to drugs and peer pressures.
The three students received sports balls (volleyballs, basketballs) for their handwork, while the entire class received medals, cake and t-shirts.

Grade 5 student Taysia Light, dared her fellow students to follow the teachings of D.A.R.E., and to stand-up against peer pressures, and bullies, during the D.A.R.E. graduation at St. Joseph’s School in Port Elgin May 18.

Saugeen Shores Constable Ken Cook congratulated the grade 5 students at St. Joseph’s Catholic School for successfully completing the D.A.R.E. program.

The D.A.R.E. graduates enjoyed their well-deserved cake after the graduation ceremony.