Grade 5 students at Marlboro Elementary School came together on the morning of June 20 to enjoy breakfast, sign yearbooks, and honor the winners of this year's DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program essay contest. They are: Emilio Penafiel, Annabella Fakhoury, Lee Piazza, Ella Montaperto, Yesmeen Serdah, Sophia Hauser, and Oliver Higgs.
Congratulations to these students and thank you to Town of Marlborough Police Officer Curt Fulton for leading another successful year of DARE!
Below are excerpts from this year's winning essays:
“Let’s start off with what DARE stands for. It means defining the problem, assessing your choices, responding and giving an answer, then evaluating and reviewing your decision. If you use these steps, it is a way to slow down and choose the best answer in your perspective. I learned that these steps actually help! In my report, I talked about drugs and their forms, the risks of having them and how you can use DARE. A little tip that I learned, try to keep a healthy lifestyle, people/friends that might inspire you to do well in life and have a positive impact in your decisions, don’t be afraid to say no. Defend what you believe in. Thank you Officer Fulton, DARE has been a joy.”
- Emilio Penafiel
“DARE stands for drug abuse resistance education, but teaches kids more than just to resist drugs. I learned a tremendous amount from my DARE officer. I have used the DARE decision making model and most importantly, I plan to use what I have learned to make safe and responsible choices throughout my life. I know in middle school, I will have to make tough decisions that will have to do with things involving peer pressure. I am thankful to learn all this from my DARE officer, and most importantly, I will continue to use this strategy throughout my life because I don’t want to become another statistic.”
- Lee Piazza
“The DARE program can stick with you for your, whole life and can prevent you from terrible decisions as we grow older! I have learned so many new things in DARE. An example of one of the teachings is resistance strategies, which is when you avoid talking to or interacting with drug users when they offer you drugs. You can walk away, change the subject, say no and give a reason or excuse, or just avoid an area where drug use is expected. I want to be the role model for my loved ones, I want to be the person that doesn’t make the wrong choices in my loved one’s life. I’ll always look back on all the things I’ve learned in DARE! In my opinion, I believe that every child and adolescent should have a DARE program, that way they would know about the important teachings that can help them make responsible choices in their life.”
- Yesmeen Serdah
“DARE means avoiding things that are bad for me. Here are some important things I need to avoid: smoking cigarettes, using drugs, being bully, and saying not nice words. Important things I learned in DARE are how to use different strategies in tricky times, for example, walking away if a friend offered me a cigarette. I would say ‘no’ and walk away from the situation.”
- Oliver Higgs
“Have you ever thought of what DARE really means? DARE stands for Drug, Abuse, Resistance, and Education. Learning about DARE has shown me the wrong decisions that people make in their lives, but inspired me to avoid those dangerous obstacles in the future. I have planned to use what I have learned to make safe and responsible choices because of all the health issues. Don’t smoke unless you want to be sick and not feel well. Always stay away from fights or bullying. Never lie, do not go behind your parents’ back, always follow the rules, don’t be afraid to say no, and never be a bystander. Overall, DARE has been a great experience. I figured out a ton about DARE, like what it means, how it works and more. We were taught to make good decisions, avoid violence and be drug free. In the end, I learned so much that I never knew but always wanted to know about.
- Annabella Fakhoury
“I learned a lot of important things from Officer Fulton, like how to be responsible with my body and what I put into it. He also taught me how important it is to make good decisions as I get older. If I forget how to do those things, DARE provides a Decision Making Model, made up of the letters in DARE. I plan to use what I have learned in DARE when I grow up! Now I can avoid not knowing what to do when I find myself in a risky situation. I am thankful that Officer Fulton has taught me a lot of valuable and smart strategies that I plan to use in the future.”
- Ella Montaperto
“This year with Officer Fulton, we learned many things in DARE and they are all VERY important to know, like how drugs are addictive and we learned how to stay away from them. It may not be as important to you as it is to me, but it is most important to know how to stay away from things that can harm you or others like drugs or alcohol. We are all responsible for our actions that can make a big impact or a small impact, but they are still important.”
- Sophia Hauser