dare essay winners 2022

DARE essay winners recognized

July 2, 2022

The annual fifth-grade DARE graduation celebration took place at all three elementary schools in the Highland district prior to the end of the school year, with a total of 258 graduates combined.

Each school also announced its winners of the DARE essay contest during their program. Again this year, the contest focused on writing a letter to their older self, explaining what they learned in DARE, and some even reminded their older self to live a drug-free life and make good choices. The winning essays were read aloud and each winner was presented with a certificate. 

The essay winners include:

• Colleen Rees, Sarah Mellinger (overall winner), Olivia Martello, Tristan Lind, Katelyn O’Flanagan and Lily McManus at Granger Elementary
• Sharon Winners: Miles Miller, Kaylee Reep, Camarie Carter, Aubrey Payne (overall winner), Amelia Price, Brynn Vandegrift, Aaron Davis and Jordan Gryskiewicz at Sharon Elementary
• Reese McPherson, Saphira Melnik, Ellia Whitacre, Max Marcum (overall winner), Logan Conrad, Alicia Grimes, and Eliana Profant at Hinckley Elementary. ∞

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Student Scene

Valley point 5th grader wins whitfield dare essay contest.

• Wednesday, May 18, 2022
• Mitch Talley, Whitfield County Director of Communications

Winners from 13 Whitfield County elementary schools recognized during the Kiwanis Club of Dalton’s annual DARE essay recognition program on May 16 included (from left, front row) Miley Farmer, Emiliano Barragan, Elsa Gewecke, Zaira Mejia, Savannah Merrell, Sophie Lofty, Ariana Munguia, Eliher Gonzalez-Favila, Brooklyn Anderson, Malaki McCullough and (not pictured) Emmaleigh Dover, Kaylee De Leon and Lyla Beckler; (back row) Tammy Silvers, Ron Kirby, Nathan Center and Vincent Schaub of the DARE program and Bert Poston of the Kiwanis Club.

photo by Mitch Talley

Eliher Gonzalez-Favila reads her winning essay during the annual DARE recognition program on May 16. In the essay, she said the most important thing she learned during the 11-week program was how to build a help network to deal with problems.

Edwin Hernandez, a 2022 graduate of Southeast Whitfield High School who has joined the U.S. Army, won the DARE essay contest in 2015 as an Eastside Elementary fifth grader. He returned this year to address the 2022 essay winners and offer them his thoughts about the value of the program.

Eliher Gonzalez-Favila says she plans to use the knowledge she picked up in the DARE program this year to avoid doing something she’ll regret later. 

That’s how the fifth grader at Valley Point Elementary summed up her Drug Abuse Resistance Education essay, which was judged best out of the hundreds written by this year’s DARE graduates from all 13 elementary schools in Whitfield County. 

Ms. Gonzalez-Favila and the other 12 essay winners from each school were honored at the 17th annual DARE recognition program held May 16 at the Dalton Convention Center, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dalton and the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office. 

As first-place winner, Ms. Gonzalez-Favila received a plaque and a $100 cash prize. Savannah Merrell of Pleasant Grove Elementary earned a plaque and $50 for second place, while a plaque and $20 went to Malaki McCullough of Beaverdale Elementary for third place. 

Each year, the 11-week-long DARE program teaches the fundamentals of the consequences of drug abuse, peer pressure and more life skills to hundreds of local fifth graders, Program Director Lieutenant Tammy Silvers said. 

“Basically, every week in class we’re talking about making good decisions and how important it is to make those good decisions,” Lt. Silvers said, praising the 13 essay winners for their efforts. “You are the cream of the crop – you are the best of the best. You’ve accomplished something only 13 students in Whitfield County schools have accomplished this year, and we’re very proud of you.” 

The Kiwanis Club’s Bert Poston, emcee of the program who also serves as local district attorney, praised the support of the parents and school officials for making the DARE program a success every year. 

“As important as it is to learn facts,” Mr. Poston said, “it’s equally important to learn how to express yourself and how to write and how to speak and how to share that knowledge with others, so one thing we really love about this program and about the DARE essay is that you’ve got 13 kids who have shown exceptional knowledge, but also exceptional ability to communicate.” 

Other school-level winners who were recognized during the program – with family, school officials and Kiwanians looking on – included:  - Antioch – Emmaleigh Dover; - Cedar Ridge – Zaira Mejia; - Cohutta – Miley Farmer; - Dawnville – Kaylee De Leon;  - Dug Gap – Brooklyn Anderson;  - Eastside – Ariana Munguia; - New Hope – Sophie Lofty; - Tunnel Hill – Lyla Beckler; - Varnell – Emiliano Barragan; and  - Westside – Elsa Gewecke.

A special treat during the program was the return of Edwin Hernandez, who won the essay contest in 2015 as a fifth grader at Eastside Elementary. He’s now a member of the United States Army and will be graduating this year as an honors student from Southeast Whitfield High School. 

“Even though a lot of time has passed since I’ve completed the program,” Mr. Hernandez said, “I like to think that the core beliefs of DARE have stuck with me and have influenced my decisions, and I want you kids here today to try to apply them to yourselves as well.” 

Besides learning to say no to drugs and alcohol, Mr. Hernandez says a third important result of the program for him was learning how to trust smartly. 

“In this world, not everyone who says they’re your friend will really mean it,” he said. “That even goes for people in your family. Now I’m not saying that you can’t trust anyone, or that you have to be suspicious of everyone you meet or have ever met, but I am saying that you have to pay close attention to who you lend your trust to. If someone you know has ever offered you something, or tried to convince you to do something you knew wasn’t right, odds are that someone doesn’t consider your well-being as a top priority. And these aren’t some empty words, I’ve seen them play out more times than I can remember.” 

Mr. Hernandez pointed to an example of a friend who missed much of his senior year because he accepted some marijuana-laced gummy bears from a “shady” acquaintance before a football game.  

“Because it was marijuana, the police got involved,” Mr. Hernandez said. “Luckily, my bandmate wasn’t sentenced to jail time, but he was still forced to spend the rest of his first semester, and most of his second semester, at Crossroads. And since this went on his permanent record, some of his friends viewed him as a fool, a criminal and cut him out of their lives.” 

Mr. Hernandez says his friend told him the worst part about the incident wasn’t the stain on his record, but the feeling of betrayal he had from someone he trusted. 

“So take it from me, take it on account of my bandmate, be smart about who you trust, and pay close attention to those around you,” Mr. Hernandez told the students, “because not everyone around who you call 'friend' is who they say they are.”    Following is the essay written by Ms. Gonzalez-Favila of Valley Point Elementary School that was judged as the best from the 13 elementary schools in Whitfield County.

By Eliher Gonzalez-Favila

Today I would like to talk about six things I learned in DARE, why I think they’re the most important, how I stay safe, and why I avoid some of them. Those topics are reporting bullying, stress, alcohol and tobacco, help network, and the DARE Decision Making Model (DDMM). 

First of all, let me talk about bullying Nationwide, 20 percent of students ages 12-18 have experienced or are experiencing bullying. To stop this problem, DARE clearly showed me how to report bullying in a safe way. First of all, we have to learn the 5 W’s. Who: who’s being bullied? What: What’s happening? Where: Where is this happening? Finally, why: Why is this happening? The 5 W’s will make it easier for us to report bullying. We can report bullying by telling a trusted adult, a friend, or reporting it to the DARE box. If we don’t report bullying as soon as possible, the victim could feel useless, could develop anxiety, depression, and probably commit suicide. 

Next, I’d like to talk about stress. Stress can be caused by a lot of stuff: bullying, overthinking about something, any type of problems, a test, etc. etc. You might not think about the consequences of not calming down in a stressful situation, but they’re not satisfying. Two examples of bad consequences are tobacco and alcohol addiction (which I’ll talk about later). Just think about it, there’s no need to find a solution in tobacco or alcohol. Some things I do to calm down in a stressful situation are listening to music, talk with someone, laugh, write, change the subject, and going to sleep. You can also use these strategies, or you can use whatever makes you calm. 

Now, I would like to talk about alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol is illegal for people under the age of 21. Before, tobacco was illegal for people under 18-19, but now, the law has been changed. People under 21 cannot consume tobacco. As you know, a lot of people under those ages still consume those products. A lot of people consume alcohol and/or tobacco because they think they’re “cool” or just to “impress” others. Others do it to “solve” their problems. The thing is, most of them don’t know what goes on with their body when they consume those products. They don’t know that they could die. The DARE book says, “There are 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the U.S.” From tobacco, we can count 450,000 deaths each year. 400,000 for the people that smoke, and 50,000 for the people that are around the smokers. Smokers might not know that if they do this daily they will have dental problems, memory loss, loss of self control, a heart disease, unhealthy bodies, a coma, and lastly … death. Please, I beg y’all, never smoke or drink alcohol. It’s not worth it. 

Now, what I think is the most important thing I learned in DARE is help network. Our help network can be composed by a trusted adult, friend, sibling, or even our pet. Our help network can help us with anything we need. I learned that if we have a loyal and trusted help network, we wouldn’t face all or most of the problems I mentioned earlier. If we’re being bullied, we can ask someone from our help network to help us. If we feel stressed, we can talk with someone from our help network. If we have problems with tobacco and/or alcohol, we can ask someone who we trust to help us get out of that situation. 

Lastly, the DARE Decision Making Model (DDMM). DARE Stands for Define: describe the problem. Assess: what are our choices. Respond: make a choice. Lastly, Evaluate: did we make a good choice. I feel like if we know what it means, we would be able to quickly find the problem and quickly find the solution. This, like the help network, will help us prevent most or all of the problems I mentioned above. 

To summarize, what I think are the most important things I learned while being in DARE were reporting bullying, stress, alcohol and tobacco, help network, and the DARE Decision Making Model (DDMM). I always try to avoid everything except help network and DDMM to stay safe, and to make sure I’m not doing anything I’ll regret later.

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2022 D.A.R.E. Essay Winners

Myrtle School D.A.R.E. essay winners Bijay Ghimirey and Riley Johnson read their pieces at the Borough Council meeting of May 23, 2022.    

Congratulations to these 5th grade students and our gratitude to D.A.R.E. Instructors Officer Christine Platt and Michael Kalas for their devotion to the program.

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Meet this Year's American History Essay Winners

The American History Essay Contest welcomes essays from students in grades 5 through 8, all centered on a theme that changes annually, often to commemorate the anniversary of an important event. The 2021-2022 American History Essay Contest commemorates the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery. This monument was dedicated on Armistice Day in 1921, with a ceremony led by President Harding.

In their essays, students were asked to write from the perspective of a young person whose brother had lost his life in The Great War, and who had traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to be present with their family at the dedication. Students wrote about what this even meant to them and why they believed remembering those who gave their lives for our country is so important. 

This year, over 23,000 students entered the American History Essay Contest, from all 50 states. The Southeast Division was particularly active, with over 8,800 students participating, and the South Central and East Central divisions were also active with over 3,700 and 3,500 students participating, respectively. Chapters, states and divisions gathered the entries and enlisted a variety of distinguished judges to read and rank the essays. Winners from each level are forwarded to the next level. This committee wishes to thank the enthusiastic involvement of so many chapters across the country and in the Units Overseas.

The winners are:

First place

Elizabeth “Mei-Mei” Payne, a 5th grader from Kansas City, Missouri, who was sponsored by the Mission Hill Chapter in Kansas.

Catherine Hogan, a 6th reader from Farmington, CT, sponsored by the Abigail Phelps Chapter in Connecticut.

Lana Chan, a 7th grader from Cottonwood Heights, UT, sponsored by the Uintah Chapter. in Utah.

Alaina Voeller, an 8th grader from Newberg, Oregon, sponsored by the Yamhill Chapter in Oregon.

Second place

Abigail Lilly, a 5th grader from Marshall, North Carolina, sponsored by the Rebecca Sevier Waddel Chapter in North Carolina.

Ainsley Voeller, a 6th grader from Newburg, Oregon, sponsored by the Yamhill Chapter in Oregon.

Isadora Nassa, a 7th grader from Riverside, Connecticut, sponsored by the Putnam Hill Chapter in Connecticut.

Savannah Clingan, an 8th grader from Hays, Kansas, sponsored by the Courtney Spalding Chapter in Kansas.

Third place

Sophia Thompson, a 5th grader from Meridien, Idaho, sponsored by the Ee-dah-how Chapter in Idaho.

Mathias Mayo-Hostetter, a 6th grader from Los Angeles, California, sponsored by the Beverly Hills Chapter in California.

Phoebe Turner, a 7th grader from Kelly, Wyoming, sponsored by the Davey Jackson Chapter in Wyoming.

Sam Longhurst, an 8th grader from Lehi, Utah, sponsored by the Wasatch Range Chapter in Utah.

The first place winners from each grade will be presented with a pin, certificate and monetary award on stage at the Education Awards Night during Continental Congress. The second and third place winners will receive a certificate and monetary award. The National First Place Winners’ essays will be on display in the Americana Room during Continental Congress.

This committee is also delighted to see a number of familiar names: students who have entered in the past have entered again, and sets of siblings, both who have entered in their respective grade levels this year, and siblings who have entered over the past few years. We can see that students do enjoy this contest and look forward to writing essays again, and we thank all the chapters across the country and from Units Overseas for promoting this contest and making it such a successful way to reach out to our local communities!

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DAR American History Essay Contest entries due Oct. 31

The Delaware State Society and the Col. David Hall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution are accepting entries for the American History Essay Contest for students in grades 5-8 and the Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest for students in grades 9-12.

The title for the 2022-23 Essay Contest for grades 5-8 is Delegate to Second Continental Congress. The prompt reads, “The Second Continental Congress met from May 10, 1775,  to March 1, 1781, and included delegates from all 13 colonies. This Congress was instrumental in shaping what was to become the United States of America. Imagine that you are a delegate during 1775-1776. Which colony are you from and what will be important for you to accomplish for your colony?"

All grade 5-8 students in public, private or parochial schools, and those who are homeschooled are eligible. This contest is conducted without regard to race, religion, sex or national origin.

The prompt for the high school-level contest for grades 9-12 is: “Select a figure from the era of the American Revolution (1773-83). Discuss how he or she influenced the course of the American Revolution, who he or she was and his/her contribution to the founding of a new nation. Figures may be any person, whether a well-known figure or an everyday man, woman, or child who supported the American Revolution in ways large or small. Students are encouraged to use primary sources (i.e., immediate, firsthand accounts such as letters, diaries, speeches, or newspaper reports) for their research. Less well-known figures are acceptable, but subjects must have been actual participants, i.e. not fictionalized.”

All grade 9-12 students in public, private, or parochial schools, and those who are home schooled are eligible. This contest is conducted without regard to race, religion, sex, or nation.

For complete details and guidelines, contact Janet Maher, NSDAR State of Delaware American history chair, at 302-258-3327 or [email protected] .

Email entries to [email protected] by Monday, Oct. 31.

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International Peace Poster Contest

For over three decades, Lions clubs around the globe have been sponsoring a very special art contest in schools and youth groups. Creating peace posters gives children everywhere the chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art and creativity.

The 2024-2025 Contest Peace Poster Contest Deadlines Order a Peace Poster Contest Kit Additional Resources Contest Winners Peace Poster Tabletop Exhibit

The 2024-2025 Contest

Peace Without Limits

For peace to be anything more than a possibility, we need to make it a priority. This year, we’re asking our young students to create a poster that speaks to our world’s infinite potential for kindness once we commit to pursuing the idea of peace without limits.

Peace Poster Contest Deadlines

Students ages 11, 12 or 13 as of November 15 are eligible to participate in the International Peace Poster Contest. Entries not meeting the following deadlines will be disqualified.

• January 15: Kits go on sale from the Club Supplies Sales Department at International Headquarters.
• October 1: Deadline to purchase kits from the Club Supplies Sales Department at International Headquarters.
• November 15: Postmark deadline for a club to send one winning poster (per contest sponsored) to the district governor.
• December 1: Postmark deadline for a district governor to send one winning district poster to multiple district council chairperson.
• December 1: Postmark deadline for a district governor not belonging to a multiple district to send one winning poster to the Brand & Creative Department at International Headquarters.
• December 1: Postmark deadline for a club not belonging to a district to send one winning entry to the Brand & Creative Department at International Headquarters.
• December 15: Postmark deadline for the multiple district council chairperson to send one winning poster to the Brand & Creative Department at International Headquarters.
• February 1: International winners notified on or before this date.

Order a Peace Poster Contest Kit

To sponsor the Peace Poster Contest, Lions clubs can order a contest kit from January 15 to October 1. The kit is available in 12 of our official languages. A kit is needed for each contest sponsored.

Each kit contains:

• Official Club Contest Guide and Rules
• Official School or Youth Group Contest Guide and Rules
• Participant Flyer to duplicate and give to participating students to take home
• Sticker to place on back of winning poster
• Certificates for contest winner and school or youth group

Order Your Kit

*To order a kit by phone, call Club Supplies Sales at (630) 571-5466 or 1-800-710-7822 (U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada only). 

Additional Resources

Peace Poster Honorable Mention Certificate Lions International Peace Essay Contest Peace Poster and Peace Essay Contest Social Media Kits Peace Poster Club Level Winner Press Release Template

Contest Winners 

Current Winners

Take a look at the 2023-2024 winners from around the world. 

Grand Prize Winners

Take a look back at the grand prize winners throughout the years. 

Peace Poster Tabletop Exhibit

The Tabletop Exhibit is a great way to draw additional attention to the contest, and encourage others to get involved. Past successful locations include libraries, community events and district, multiple district and state Lions conventions.

It’s available for loan free of charge to clubs, districts and multiple districts in the United States to promote the Peace Poster Contest. Please note that due to customs regulations, we are unable to ship the exhibit outside of the United States.

To learn more, contact (630) 203-3812.

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DARE Essay Winner 2017

And the Winners are….. Each year the best DARE Essays from around Wisconsin are submitted. Here are the winner for 2018

DARE Officer Sandy Brown  Area 1 Essay Winner Mary Grace Schlifske, Elm Grove Chief Jim Gage

D.A.R.E Report

By, Lindsey Eis

D.A.R.E… Drug, Abuse, Resistance, Education is a program that is directed to focus on the prevention of the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol for young adults. D.A.R.E was formed to educate young adults about the risks of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol to prevent future use of it. D.A.R.E also focuses on communication skills, resistance strategies, bullying and many other life situations. The D.A.R.E abbreviation meaning Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. Which if made the right decision can also prevent the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.

DDMM The abbreviation DDMM stands for D.A.R.E Decision Making Model. The D.A.R.E Decision Making Model is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate and is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. The Define part of the model means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Next the Assess part of the model means for you to think what are your choices. ln the Respond part of the model you need to make a choice by using the facts and information you have gathered. Finally the Evaluate part of the problem means to review your decision and for you to think did you make a good decision. Finally l now know after this very helpful lesson in D.A.R.E that every time I am in a bad or difficult situation l know and should use… DDMM.

Resistance Strategies Resistance Strategies are strategies to stay away from a difficult or bad situation. Some resistance strategies are to walk away, say no, avoid, change the subject, give an excuse, and there is always strength in numbers. Resistance strategies can be used in bullying situations or in situation that you don’t want to do something that could hurt or affect you in the future or now. in your resistance strategies, you always want to be away from the situation in good, alcohol free, drug free, and tobacco free surrounding. Many of these situations happen in real life and anyone should always use these strategies if you want to live a happy, healthy life for l know that l do.

Risks of Tobacco, Drugs, and Overuse of Alcohol A risk can be positive or negative but the risks of doing these drinks, plants, and powders under the age of 18, none of them are positive. There are many different health effects and scary facts about these things that will make me or anyone think twice about using them. Some of the health effects of tobacco are… ‘  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 18  2. There are 200 known chemicals in cigarette smoke  3. There are 400,000 deaths each year due to the use of tobacco

Some of the health effects about alcohol are…  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 21 2. lt causes memory loss, loss of coordination, and slow reflexes

Some of the health effects of drugs are…1. if you overdose you will have a risk of death or other conditions2. You can get arrested for the use of it at all

This information is important because it can prevent the start of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. It can also help people stop these things and help them live a happy healthy life. This has affected me a lot because l want to live a full life for we only have 1.

‘The 5’s and How to Report Bullying What is bullying… bullying, according the D.A.R.E writers, is an aggressive or unwanted behavior used again and again to isolate, harm, or control another person.~ This is a ham1ful and mean act that’s why you should always know how to report it. There are many different kinds of bullying some of them are…1.      Cyber2.      Mental3.      Verbal4.      Physical5.       Social

The 5’s of reporting bullying are who, what, where, when, and why. These are to help anyone tell a trusted adult about WHO did it, WHAT did they do, WHERE did it happen, WHEN did it happen, and WHY did they do it. Resistance strategies can also be used in these situations, not just situations involving tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Now l know whenever l am being bullied l know to use the 5 w’s of reporting bullying, resistance strategies and other strategies to help me deal with and report bullying.

How to Deal With Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is a hard thing to deal with, but you should always try to push through. Peer pressure according to the D.A.R.E authors is when people your age try to get you to do something. lf you are having troubles resisting you can always use DDMM and resistance strategies to help you push through. Peer pressure can also be positive not just negative, pushing you to do drugs, tobacco, and underage drinking. The positive peer pressure can be pushing you to do better on a test or pushing you to do something new like a new sport. This has affected me so much because now‘ l always remember to do what l believe not what others believe l should do.

Confident Communication

You should always use confident communication. lt can help you with your social skills, when you ask people questions, and to help you get your point across. in using this strategy, you should always talk or discuss in a calm and cooperative way. You can also use DDMM in this strategy as well to help you figure out what to say and to help you say it clear. This lesson in D.A.R.E has helped me a lot to speak more confident and more efficiently.

Signs of Stress Stress according to the D.A.R.E authors is any strain, pressure, or excitement about a situation or event. There are many different signs or stress some of them are…1.     Depression2.     Loss of hair3.     Anger4.      High blood pressure

Some of the actions due to stress are…1.     Yell2.      Stay still3.      Over eat4.     Throw things or items

You can always use different strategies to help you deal with stress like to use a stress ball or to hang out with friends. This has helped me a lot because now l know if l am stressed to talk to someone or if l should use those strategies to push through it.

Help Network

A help network according to the D.A.R.E authors is a person or a group of people that you can call for advice or guidance. A help network can be a friend or any trusted adult. You ‘should always go to you help network when you need them it can help you make safe and good decisions. You can go to your help network anytime you feel uncomfortable or threatened in a situation or just for any life problems. This information is important because this can help any person know that they should always go to their help network for advice or help. Now I know that if l have any problem that l should always go to my help network for help.

Tattling vs. Telling

Tattling and telling are two totally different things. Tattling according to the D.A.R.E authors is when you want to get someone in trouble for a harmless behavior. While telling is to provide information to a trusted adult to help someone or to keep someone safe. DDMM can also be used in these situations to help anyone decide if it is tattling or telling. I used to tell a trusted adult if it was tattling or telling but after the lesson in D.A.R.E I realized that I don’t always have to tell only when it is to keep someone safe or to just help them. I have learned so many skills in D.A.R.E that have helped me so much with many of my life situations and will help me with so many more in the future as well. All of the lessons will and have helped me make healthy decisions about tobacco, drugs, and the overuse of alcohol. The lessons have given me facts and many different health effects that have made sure I was never going to do any of those things. There are also many different skills I have learned in D.A.R. E. Like how l have Ieamed of how to stay away from situations that could affect me in the future to how to report bullying and other situations. I have also learned how to access situations using DDMM, different signs of stress and how to deal with it, and so many other skills and strategies. I am so glad to have finished D.A.R.E with so much new knowledge in my brain.

Pledge Statement

I Lindsey Eis, pledge not to do drugs, tobacco,  or alcohol in my lifetime and ruin my chance at a full happy life. ‘

My D.A.R.E.

Report By: Jaylee Weyhrauch

Did you know that there are over 200 harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke? In fact, there are even over 4,000 chemicals. ln the US 16.8% of Adults smoke, but we can lower this number even further. Smoking is very bad for your body. Does having cancer sound fun to you? Because there are 43 known cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. The smoke alone can kill you! There are also toxins, in fact, there are over 400 other toxins. In cigarettes, there are ingredients that you would never think that people would enjoy like nicotine which can make you addicted in a bad way. Nicotine is also the main ingredient in bug spray. In fact, once you start getting addicted, if you try to stop, you will feel very bad. Imagine the worst stomach flu, now think of that ten times worse. That is how hard it is to stop once you are hooked. There is also carbon monoxide in these death sticks. lt is a colorless, scentless, tasteless gas. Symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headache, and flu-like symptoms. It can also make it seem like the world is spinning. Ln severe cases carbon monoxide can even infect your central nervous system, introduce toxins to your heart, and even kill you. lf you are exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide for a long time, it can result in permanent damage like depression, memory loss, and confusion. Cigarettes have more than just that, they also have ammonia. Ammonia is a colorless, irritating gas that has a sharp odor that can cause irritation and burns. It dissolves easily in water to create ammonium hydroxide solution. Normally people who smoke don’t mind this noxious odor. That’s still not all. The cigarettes contain formaldehyde which is also in glue, plywood, fiberboard, and insulation materials. Formaldehyde is also a chemical that is in all the animals that the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classed dissected this year. I would never eat glue, would you? Now imagine you saw a truck laying down pavement for your driveway. Would you go up to the driveway and take a bite of the squishy stuff? I bet not. But that is exactly what you would be doing if you took a cigarette and smoked it. Cigarettes have tar. Tar is a very bad thing to put into your body. It will start off fine, being stopped by your tiny nose hairs, or cilia, that stop bad things from going into your lungs like dirt or dust, but the tar will burn them away and infiltrate your lungs. From there it will coat your lungs over and over with small thin coats. Since there is nicotine, which I told you about earlier, you will want more and more. Soon, there will be many layers of tar, your lung surface Will be so small that your lungs will go from as big as a shoe box to as small as a tennis ball. That would be very hard to breathe with.

In D.A.R.E. I also learned that alcohol is also very bad for you. In fact, there are an estimated 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year. Alcohol is illegal for anyone under 21 years old. Alcohol slows down your brain and results in loss of coordination, poor judgement, memory loss, loss of self-control, and slow reflexes. Alcohol can also be addictive. In fact about 18 million people abuse alcohol. This is awful but we can make a stand!!  We need to fight against this terrible substance. But before you go home and tell your parents they can never have alcohol again, I want to tell you that a little bit every now and then is okay, but if they drink all the time, it’s about time to stop the damage. Alcohol, as l told you earlier creates poor judgement, therefore, many people die of alcohol related deaths each year including about 1,580 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, about 1,296 deaths from homicides, 245 from alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, and drowning, and 492 from suicide or killing themselves. Added up this is about 10,613 alcohol related deaths each year from young people abusing it. The reason young people can’t have alcohol is because they are still growing and it can harm them. They also aren’t as mature. Most people think that alcohol will make you look cool, but waddling around, puking on yourself, and passing out is not cool. Alcohol also causes bad breath and weight gain. If you’re under twenty-one, drinking is illegal. If you are caught, you will have to do community service, pay a fine, or take alcohol awareness classes. You may also get bad grades. Some reasons why teens think it’s okay to drink are advertising, social status, peer pressure, peer example, and family example. These have been going down in the past few years, but WE can end it all together!!!!!l!l!!!!!Thanks for listening to my presentation, and remember, We are the generation to stop drug abuse!!!!l!!!!!!

Report Lilly Ackerman

Did you know that alcohol weakens the heart muscle, and decreases the amount of blood that is pumped through the heart?  The D.A.R.E. program has helped me learn facts like this, and how to make safe and responsible choices.

The very first day Officer Weaver talked about how to use the D.A.R.E. decision making model. By defining a problem, assessing your choices and responding appropriately, then evaluating your response, you put yourself in a better position than you were before.  We practiced this model in the many scenarios that we read. Officer Weaver also taught us health related facts like, there are 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the U.S.

This teaches us that when we are older we need to drink responsibly. Another topic he talked about was stress. Stress is the strain, pressure, or excitement that is felt about a certain situation. Stress can also be very harmful ta your health.

I recently used the D.A.R.E. Decision Making Model when I was at a swimming pool. I used it by taking a look at my situation, which was identifying my challenge. My challenge was trying to figure out whether I should get in the water with my cousins before my parents got down to the pool. I was very tempted to get in because my cousins kept telling me to come swim. Next, it was time to assess my choices which were to get in the pool without an adult in the room and get in trouble, or stay out of the pool and wait fox’ an admit. After thinking about it I chose to stay out of the pool. 1 was glad I made that choice because instead of being in trouble with my parents, I was complemented on making the right choice.

Another time I had to evaluate a sticky situation was when my sister came to me asking for advice. She had overheard a friend talking about something that shouldn‘t have been said, I helped her think about what she should do and I also told her that I thought she should go and talk to our mom. In the end this advice worked and she was relieved that it all worked out, and she wasn’t in trouble because she found help.

I also used the Decision Making Model on the soccer field when my teammate was being unsportsmanlike I knew my three choices were to be a bystander and do nothing, talk to her, or tell my coach.  After thinking about it I chose to talk directly to her. In the end this chaise worked because I was able to talk to her about how being unsportsmanlike was not okay and hurt our whole team. She understood why she shouldn’t do what she was doing and she stopped. This was better than telling the coach because she didn’t feel like she was in trouble. The D.A.R.E. model has really helped me improve in making the right choice and has given me a way ta also help others make those same choices.

I plan to use what I have warned in my D.A.R.E. program to five a healthy and safe life. I can use my knowledge to make responsible choices and remember the facts about stress, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The D.A.R.E. program is a great model to follow when it comes to sticky situations and may come in handy next year in middle school.

I have also realized that D.AR.E. is really important because life is going to be full of challenges that may lead me in the wrong direction. At some point in my life alcohol and drugs will be introduced and l will have to be smart and not feel pressured to do something I don’t want to do or that is not healthy for me. Life will also be full of stressful moments that I will need to know how to stay away from Trying to do activities that won’t cause stress will be very important. In my future I plan on being some type of doctor. D,A.R.E. will help me do this because I now have the knowledge to keep my body healthy and that knowledge will allow me to share this information with my patients. I “DARE” you to live a drug, alcohol and tobacco free life.

I Choose DARE 

by: Olivia England

Did you know that my dad died from drugs? He isn’t the only one either.

Unfortunately, 75,000 alcohol related deaths occur each year in the U5! Two health effects of alcohol are memory loss and loss of self-control. Sometimes, it can even lead to coma or death.

Some of the DARE skills t learned in the past ten weeks are how to say no to alcohol. l learned to say no through the DARE Decision Making Model. (DDMM) The DDMM is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.

Define means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Assess means to ask yourself. what are my choices? Respond means to make a choice by using the facts and information you have.

Lastly, Evaluate! Evaluate means to review your decision, did l make a good choice?

One of the many types of bullying is Cyber Bullying. I’ve been cyber bullied by someone I know. It was on an app on my ipad. It wasn’t very fun, but l got over it. Two things that helped me overcome it was all of the bystanders that stood up for me! Also, my parents gave me inspiring talks! When we were talking about bullying in DARE, it brought back some hurtful memories, but it also cured my hurt! Now l feel better about it! That’s all thanks to DARE! L will use my DARE skills in the future if I ever run into another case similar to that one!

The best thing I learned in DARE was the health effects of tobacco and Alcohol use. It helped me because if someone I know were to use it, then maybe they would stop! If only everyone didn’t do drugs, then to me, the world would be complete!

I Olivia England, solemnly swear never to use drugs or to be a bully to anyone for as long as I live.