Chippewa Elementary’s fourth-grade students don’t just say no to drugs. They do so in style.
More than 70 of the school’s students sang, danced and acted out skits and “radio spots” earlier this month during Chippewa’s “Too Good For Drugs” graduation ceremony in the school’s cafeteria.
The students have been learning anti-drug and anti-smoking lessons for 10 weeks under the guidance of Michelle Schindler, a certified prevention specialist with YMCA Family Services. Wednesday’s event with an audience of teachers and parents marked the culmination of the program, which has been taught at Chippewa for more than 15 years, Schindler said.
PHOTOS: See more images from the event at Chippewa Elementary
“They’re at a risky age where it’s better to be aware of these things. This gives them the skills to be able to say no to peer pressure,” Schindler said. “The earlier we can teach these lessons, the more chance we have that they will remain drug free and stay healthy.”
The kids wrote their own material, which consisted of poems, songs, skits and more with influences ranging from “Gangnam Style” to the “Oompa Loompa” song from “Willy Wonka.”
YMCA Family Services offers similar programs at other Sachem schools, as well as a Too Good For Violence anti-bullying program that will soon begin with kindergarten and fifth-grade classes, Schindler said.
-Words/photos submitted by Scott Campbell