A-H Grade School 5th Grade Students Graduate from D.A.R.E. Program
Iris Binion proudly displays her first-place poster depicting what D.A.R.E. means to her. Her poster will be hung in the A-H Grade School. Also pictured are Chief Mike Goodman and Zakk Ulbricht, D.A.R.E. bear recipient.
By DORIS ELMORE
Staff Writer
D.A.R.E. graduation for A-H Grade School 5th grade students was held on Friday, May 3 in the grade school cafeteria. D.A.R.E. officer & instructor Chief Mike Goodman of Arthur was in charge of the program. There were 20 members of the class.
The program was given by the class, Principal Chris Forman and Chief Goodman.
Teagan Gibbs gave the welcome, followed by Layne Tiffan leading the pledge of allegiance.
Principal Forman introduced the class and introduced the law enforcement officers in attendance.
Several people were thanked for their continued support in the D.A.R.E. program. They included Village of Atwood, Principal Forman, Mrs. Shoemaker, Arthur Police Chief & D.A.R.E. Officer Mike Goodman and Atwood Police Chief Joe Duncan, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge #742.
Chief Goodman thanked the Village of Arthur and the Arthur School Board for allowing him to teach this class. Goodman said he began teaching the D.A.R.E. class at Arthur in 1997 and this is his fourth year at A-H Grade School. He also announced this is his last year and will be replaced by Adam Brazzell, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Three essays were chosen to be read at graduation. They were Drake Hopkins, Ivy Binion and Carter Fleming. All of these students did a great job with their essays. While all of the essays were good, we randomly picked one to share with our readers. The following is My D.A.R.E. essay written by Carter Fleming.
“Did you know that if you add up all the people in the United States who have died from smoking, chewing tobacco, and doing drugs, it equals 525,000 people who have died in a year? Well, I’m here to tell you some other facts about drugs, alcohol, and chewing tobacco. I learned all this from Dare. Dare is a class that I have where we learn about the effects of drugs, smoking, stress, and bullying. Cigarettes are a white tube of nicotine, and other stuff that is bad for you. I have learned that smoking can result in lung cancer, dry skin, wrinkles, yellow teeth, bad breath, and can cause heart disease. Do you know that smokers have more colds and problems with their upper respiratory systems? Tobacco is pretty much the same thing as cigarettes, just with no white tube. Tobacco can cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, and other health problems. In the state of Illinois, it is illegal to buy any tobacco products if you are under the age of 21. Some states put the age limit at 18 or 19 years old. Did you know the nicotine in tobacco reduces the amount of blood that flows in your brain? This interferes with how your brain works.”
Fleming continued, “Alcohol is also very bad for you because it contains drugs. Don’t do drugs. Some alcohol effects are loss of coordination, poor judgment, memory loss, loss of self-control, and slow reflexes. Alcohol is illegal for anyone under the age of 21; it is dangerous to mix drugs with alcohol, and it slows down the brain and body. Something I forgot to mention is how to report bullying (safely). To report bullying, we use the 5 W’s. The five (5) Ws are who, what, when, where, and why. Did you know that bullying can cause a lot of stress? To help you understand, I’m going to explain what stress is. Stress feels like tension from life events. Eventually, you will start to act differently, change your attitude, and sometimes just cry. If you ever feel this feeling, just pause for a few seconds and walk away from the situation.”
“Another thing we use is the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model. For the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model, we use the word D.A.R.E. which stands for Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate. I will use the decision-making model if someone ever tries to get me to chew tobacco, smoke or do drugs. I have used this D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model by not chewing, smoking, or doing drugs. In conclusion, if someone is trying to get you to do Drugs, chew or smoke, be real and say no because of all these I shared with you. One more thing, do not bully, it causes stress, and if you ever feel stressed, just hit the pause button and walk away from whatever situation you’re in,” concludes Carter.
The graduates were recognized and received a certificate and a D.A.R.E. shirt. The graduates are named in the picture cutline.
Chief Goodman introduced D.A.R.E. Poster Winner Iris Binion. Her poster was enlarged and will have the honor of hanging at the school. Zakk Ulbricht was presented the D.A.R.E. bear. Second place poster winner was Nikki McCullough.
D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, and was founded in 1983. It has proven so successful that it has been implemented in thousands of schools throughout the United States and many other countries. It is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.
According to the D.A.R.E. website, this year millions of school children around the world will benefit from D.A.R.E., the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs and violence.
