Students Pledge to Say No to Drugs at Annual DARE Graduation
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Sally D. Meadows Elementary School 5th grade students each pledged to say no to drugs and to make good decisions during the annual Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) Graduation on Friday, March 28.
Each year, the school’s 5th graders spend 10 weeks learning about drug and alcohol awareness, bullying, making good decisions, and other topics related to being a good citizen. The course is taught by Vidalia City Schools Resource Officer Corporal Dwayne Carpenter, who has served as the DARE Instructor for 15 years.
Corporal Carpenter told the friends and family of the DARE graduates that he had been impressed with this year’s group and was optimistic about their future choices. He emphasized the importance of learning to make good decisions, as he said, “Decisions these students make today will affect their future.”
He also announced the DARE Essay Contest award winners. In this contest, students were required to write at least one page about what they learned throughout the DARE program. Each winner got a medal, and the overall winner received a stuffed DARE lion. The overall winner was Journey Harris; other winners included Chessley Horton, Janie Beck, Carley Groves, Alexa Day, Hope Williamson, Danny Lynn Williams, Ella Galbreath, and Maliyah Hess.
Sally D. Meadows Principal Brandon Boston spoke to the students about his pride in their accomplishment and thanked Corporal Carpenter and the DARE Role Models – high school students volunteering their time to help with the program – for their efforts with the students.
Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper gave the keynote address at the event, as he shared the importance of making good decisions. He spoke of his time working at the Paul Anderson Youth Home, where he discovered many of the young men that were living there had first experimented with drugs in middle school. He also shared a personal experience in which one of his close friends lost their son to an accidental overdose, as he encouraged the students to avoid these situations.
The DARE program is taught to 5th grade students every Spring. For more information, call (912) 537-4755.
ENCOURAGING STUDENTS — Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper encouraged DARE graduates to make good decisions and to avoid forgetting what they had learned through the program.
