Drug Free Guest Speakers

We have had a whole array of guest speakers in and out of classroom 7 this week. We enjoyed our DEA Agent so much that he is returning for round 2 tomorrow morning. We just ran out of time, and we still needed more answers. Plus he forgot to show us that cool badge of his! Yesterday we met Renzo the drug dog and his handlers. We actually got to see him find drugs in a drawer. He was AWESOME, and all to play with a chewy stick! (Kinda how I get kids to participate in class discussions by giving them jolly ranchers. :0)) In the afternoon, we had a probration officer in our room. We learned a lot about MIP's and how our choices are tracked in files for our entire life. We also talked about specific drugs that are found in Billings. Students received pamphlets on these, and should have brought them home to share with you. Speaking of sharing, thanks so much for participating in the dinner table discussion questions. It is fun to read the responses and good to see it being reinforced at home. Today we had two VERY special guests. I invited a student that I had five years ago and his mom. They shared their story of how he got an MIP last spring and the consequences he had to do for his choices. More than that, mom shared how her son's choices also affected her life as a parent. It was very powerful and seeing a kid that once was in Ms. Erickson's class, deal with these issues was real to these kids. We also watched the movie today. It is always interesting to watch the student's faces as they watch this movie. This movie showed them the real, graphic effects of the drug morphine. It also shows again, how the choices that kids make affect more than just themselves; it affects their entire family and friends as well. You can see how the field trip to the jail is going to tie all of this learning together at the end. It is exciting to see all the kids become serious about this issue! Thanks to all our guest speakers and parents for helping with this intense topic! Ask your kid tonight about the Drug Free Pledge we have been saying everyday this week. JUST SAY NO!