Once again The Centre 2000 theatre here was packed with cheering students, parents, teachers, principals, and members of the community on May 20.
Almost 200 grade 6 students from the four Erin area schools had completed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The students were from St. John Brebeuf Catholic School, Erin Public School, Ross. R McKay Public School, and Brisbane Public School.
The program is designed to be taught by police officers whose training and experience gave them the background needed to answer the sophisticated questions often posed by young students about drugs and crime.
DARE goes beyond traditional drug abuse and violence prevention programs.
It gives children the skills needed to recognize and resist the subtle and even overt pressures that cause them to experiment with drugs or become involved in gangs or violent activities.
The DARE program is solely funded by the Erin Optimist Club and is taught by Constable Pete Fowler, of the Wellington County OPP.
“It’s all about making a connection and building relationships in our community” said Fowler, who has just completed another successful year of teaching the DARE program. “DARE relies on those positive relationships between police, students, parents, schools, and the community,” Fowler said.
Guest speaker and Wellington-Halton-Hills MP Michael Chong spoke to the students and their parents about the importance of making healthy choices.
An addition to this year’s graduation exercise was that it was broadcast live over 101.5 FM Erin Radio, and also on the World Wide Web. “We wanted to reach as many people as we could; this is a huge accomplishment for our graduates, and their successes should be shared” said Fowler.
He said he hopes the DARE program expands throughout Wellington County. For more information on DARE, contact Fowler at 519-856-1506 or go online at www.dare.com.
