Over the last several weeks, South Orangetown Middle School sixth graders have been participating in the D.A.R.E. program, led by officers from the Orangetown Police Department.
D.A.R.E. is a substance abuse prevention education program that aims to provide students with the skills to resist peer pressure. Local police officers will visit with students for a total of 10 lessons, which focus on topics ranging from vaping to bullying. “We are thankful to our ongoing partnership with the Orangetown Police Department in providing the D.A.R.E. program to our sixth grade students. Officers Lopez and Graney teach students about the D.A.R.E. (Define, Assess, Respond, Evaluate) decision-making model in an interactive, positive and supportive manner,” said SOMS Principal Chad Corey, Ed.D.
Officer Luke Graney, a SOCSD graduate, recently spoke with students to discuss verbal and non-verbal communication and the various types of bullying including verbal, social, physical and cyber bullying. Officer Graney discussed ways that students can stop bullying and how to report it to keep someone safe. Students learned the best tactics to report bullying including reporting the “5 W’s”: who, what, when, where and why. Students reviewed fictional scenarios and worked in groups to determine the 5 W’s of the story and brainstormed strategies to help the person in the story.
