It's an early graduation for students at Ecole Percy Pegler Elementary School in Okotoks on Fri. Dec. 2.

Percy Pegler students celebrated the completion of their D.A.R.E program in school received their black and red D.A.R.E shirts and even had some cake!

D.A.R.E stands for Drug Awareness Resistance Education and focuses primarily on drugs and alcohol and their effects on the human body. The students covered topics such as What is a drug? What Drugs do physically to your body, Drinking and Driving, and how to say NO to drugs. Dinah Van Donzel Principal of Ecole Percy Pegler School says the program is designed to teach the students about safety.

"Over the years the program has moved from what is it? to developing a thought process around making good decisions, being accountable and being responsible."

With the rise of social media and ease of access to information, children are discovering things like drugs and alcohol at an earlier age, so it's important to arm children with the knowledge of how dangerous drugs and alcohol can be. Van Donzel says the program used to be targeted for older students.

"We used to do this program at older ages, and now the students hear about all of these pieces, and so we have to arm them with strategies and coping skills." Van Donzel says "That resistance piece is hugely important."

The students celebrated their new knowledge with student led presentations on how to make well informed decisions, and the individuals right to say no.

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