INNISFAIL – There was special love in Dana Lacombe’s Grade 5 class on Feb. 14.
Yes, it was Valentine’s Day but it was also time for her 22 students at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School to celebrate their achievement.
The teacher’s kids were graduating after 10 instructional weeks through the D.A.R.E. program.
“It's a perfect date to have a celebration and have some cake and juice and celebrate some important milestones for them,” said Lacombe, noting there was a connection between the D.A.R.E program and Valentine’s Day.
The special day originated in the eighth century as a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Valentine. Beginning in the 14th century it became a cultural, religious and commercial celebration of love.
“Some of the things these kids learn is basically on a fundamental level how to love themselves and how to love each other,” said Lacombe, who is celebrating her third D.A.R.E. graduating class with Grade 5 students. “It works out perfect that it's on the day to celebrate love.”
Innisfail RCMP Const. Craig Nelson, the detachment's community schools resource officer, has led the program at local schools for the past six years.
He said this year’s graduating class finished its 10-week D.A.R.E. program more quickly than usual. The graduation day in 2023 was on March 22.
“I asked Mrs. Lacombe when her class wanted the D.A.R.E. graduation party and they said, ‘well, let’s do it on Valentine’s Day.’ OK. Perfect. So, here we are,” said Nelson, noting the 2024 celebration was the first time he’s led a D.A.R.E class to graduation on Valentine’s Day.
D.A.R.E., an acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was first developed by law enforcement and school officials in 1983 as a formal way of introducing alcohol and drug use information to young people, and to lower the rate of substance abuse in the future.
“It’s neat how they kind of fit together nicely,” said Nelson of the double celebration on Feb. 14. “When we talk about D.A.R.E. we talk about making good decisions. We talk about not bullying each other. We talk about what to do if there is someone who's not being kind to another person.
“And that is kind of a neat tie into Valentine's Day,” he added. “St. Marguerite is such a great school for these kids, where they're surrounded by people who care about them and where they are encouraged to care about each other.
“And that fits so nicely into the D.A.R.E. narrative.”
And after all the photos were taken and the graduation certificates and t-shirts handed out, it was time for everyone to celebrate the achievement with refreshments, courtesy of Innisfail McDonald’s restaurant, and cake from Central Alberta Co-op.
“The program stays consistent but each year is a little bit different because it's kid involvement,” said Nelson. “Each class has its own unique personality. It's always exciting to teach it.
“It's very interactive, and so that makes it neat.”
