Heartland students graduate from the DARE program.
On December 14th, Bloomfield Police Officer Buddy Harsch hosted the Davis County 5th Grade DARE graduation. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education.
Officer Harsch explained that the goal of DARE is to teach the students how to make health choices. "DARE has switched its main focus from drug facts to making wise and safe choices." We cover a larger range of topics from peer pressure to bullying, to social networks, and a section on drug facts.
Mayor Chris Miller was the guest speaker and talked about making safe and smart choices. One thing that Mayor Miller said was "This is a clear sheet of paper, and this symbolizes your future. You can do anything you want. Dont let bad choices fill your sheet of paper/ future."
Each year 3 winners are picked from an essay and poster contest. The Essay winners were 1st Kassidy Stremler 2nd- Avery Burton 3rd-Abe Steinbeck. The top 3 poster contest winners were 1st- Ashley Strong, 2nd Sophie Spargur, 3rd Malia Penrod. Diplomas and graduation pins were handed out to each student.
Keith's Foods and Subway donated sandwiches and pop for a graduation lunch. Officer Harsch finished the graduation ceremony by thanking parents for showing up and reminding them that these peer pressure situations are fast approaching. "I was in 7th grade the first time that alcohol was offered to me, and was between my 8th and 9th grades when cigarettes were first offered" said Harsch. You as parents are the head coach. By being involved in your children's lives, you can assist them in staying drug