On November 28, Paulding County D.A.R.E. program held its graduation for 5th graders of Antwerp Elementary. Graduation is a time for students to think back on what they have learned in D.A.R.E. and time to reward the kids for completing the 12-week program. At the end of the program, each student writes an essay. The top two essays are picked and the winners are announced during D.A.R.E. graduation. Deputy Mendez said the two essays winners were Madisyn Peters and Drew Eaken. “Every 5th grader did an amazing job on their essays and it’s because of their essays, I know they are ready to make good choices,” says Deputy Mendez.
Each student received a certificate, a medal and a D.A.R.E. t-shirt for completing the program. Donuts and cookies were provided and after the graduation ceremony they explored a police cruiser.
Below are two essays written by DARE participants:
D.A.R.E. Essay BY Madisyn Peters
Have you ever wanted to take a risk and thought about the good and bad consequences? Then congratulations! You are using the D.D.M.M. In our fifth grade year, we have shared a new and exciting experience, we had DARE! DARE. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is a new program for fifth graders.
In D.A.R.E., we learn how to make responsible choices, stay safe, and handle difficult situations in the future. In D.A.R.E,, we have learned how to handle stress, bullying, peer pressure, and good communication. When you or a friend are being bullied you may think there is no possible way to resolve the conflict, but there is! We have learned how to handle difficult situations by writing an anonymous note to a help network or asking a trusted adult for advice or help. A lot of our lessons were about making responsible choices. Not all of our lessons were solely about responsibility, but everything that we learned has lead to responsible choices and staying safe.
In D.A.R.E., we learned a lot about how to stay away from drugs and alcohol. We learned that alcohol can slow down the brain and body, resulting in memory loss, poor, judgement, slow reflexes, and loss of coordination, so we will try to stay away from alcohol and other chemicals that are bad for our body. A fact about drugs are they can ruin your life faster than anything else. We learned about strength in numbers, avoiding the situation, and walking away. Those are only a few of the skills we learned about and have begun using this year.
People who have been in D.A.R,E. are more likely to make better choices. We learned to take medicines that doctors give us properly or it could result in medical issues in the future. I plan to use this so I can protect myself and other people. I also plan to use the peer pressure strategies to have better judgement on different choices. Using the DAR,E. Decision Making Model, or D.D.M.M., is another strategy to stay safe so we can Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.
In just a small amount of time we have learned so much. I plan to use all of these skills in the future so I can have a safer, healthier, and happier life.
DARE
By: Drew Eaken
Did you know that caffeine is a drug, but it is not a bad drug. Caffeine can help you wake up in the morning, and scientist have proven you should have at least one cup of caffeine a day. DARE helps you stay off of drugs, alcohol, and bad decisions in general. I think all grades should do DARE because it will teach younger kids to not make bad decisions in the future. DARE is a good program that I will plan and use in the future.
In DARE this year, I learned that there are good drugs like caffeine and medication. There are also bad drugs like alcohol and tobacco. You should stay off bad drugs because they could affect the way you act and the way your body acts. Another thing I learned this year is that you should tell not tattle on someone.
I think DARE is a good program for all ages every grade should do DARE because DARE teaches kids to stay off of drugs. Kids should not smoke under the age of 18 because smoking could mess up kids lungs under the age of 18. The same case goes with alcohol but it does not mess up your lungs it messes up your liver because your liver thinks alcohol is poison but it quickly put it into your bloodstream and you will eventually die! That is why you should not drink alcohol.
Nicotine is very addictive and it is not good for you. Smoking can cause lung cancer, gum disease, etcetera. That is why thousands of people die each year.
I’ve used DARE before I’ve dealt with stress and bullying. Stress is awful usually I cry, hit my walls, and hide from everyone. So to deal with stress I do my hobbies. Being bullied is not fun I usually get hit, get called names and get left out. I deal with bullying by telling my teacher or parent.
In the future I plan to use DARE all the time like not smoke and drink not a lot of alcohol. Alcohol is bad, but if you drink it responsibly you won’t have a bad time. So that is why I will not drink at all. Smoking is terrible you should never smoke because it can give you lung cancer and gum disease. That’s why I will never ever smoke.
I personally think DARE is a great program because DARE teaches you to stay off drugs and make good decisions. In the future I will use everything I learned to make good decisions and stay off drugs. I think that DARE should be taught in all grades so littler kid know to stay off drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
