Schools

Knollwood Fifth Grade Students DARE to Learn About Substance Abuse

Graduation ceremony held recently

Under a DARE program dubbed Too Good for Drugs, the fifth grade class at Knollwood School recently held its graduation, replete with special recognitions.

"Too Good for Drugs is a new curriculum approved by DARE New Jersey," Fair Haven Police Sgt. Jesse Dykstra, who instructed the program along with Sgt. Sherri Lambert and Patrolman William Lagrotteria. "The course supplemented the students' health classes. We were assisted by Knollwood's Health teacher Byron Williams."

The three officers have been instructing the DARE program for eight years.

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Over the course of the approximate 10 weeks, from Feb. 25 through May 17, the officers worked with the students, they covered the following subjects: goal setting, decision making, identifying and managing emotions, effective communication, bonding and relationships (peer pressure), and the effects and risks of alcohol, tabacco, marijuana, inhalants and street drugs use.

"In order to successfully graduate the program, in addition to regular class participation, students were required to put all of the knowledge and skills down on paper in a summary report on what they learned," Dykstra said. "A winner was picked out of each of the five (5) classes as having written the best report."

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The graduation ceremony was held last Thursday at Knollwood School with parents present to honor the winning report writers. Prizes were given to the first-, second- and third-place winners.

The fifth grade report winners were: Joseph Laughinghouse, Gabrielle Kim, Jack Spagnualo, Jane Banahan and Elizabeth Etzler.

A demonstration was also held by Monmouth County Sheriff’s Officer James Fay and his K-9 partner Falko, a bomb-sniffing dog, Dykstra added.

"We, being the officers, like the program because it breaks the ice and helps us develop good relationships with the kids while at the same time educating them on the dangers of things that they could very well be faced with in the near future," he said.

The program is a cooperative effort between the police department, Fair Haven school administrators and donations made by the PTA. There is also a DARE clothing drop box at the Fair Haven Department of Public Works.


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