By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Valley of Enchantment Elementary school had an exciting reward for its fifth-grade students in the D.A.R.E. program. The program has been around for decades, as a program initially designed to discourage the use of Illegal drugs. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is a school-based program, now also designed to teach students skills for resisting peer pressure not just to use drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, but now also learning how to make safe and wise choices.
The exciting concluding event that occurred last week was the arrival of a military Black Hawk helicopter that landed on the grassy field and playground at Valley of Enchantment Elementary School as a reward for completing the 10-week drug education class program by the fifth graders. This was a high-profile, exciting reward for students, which allowed them to explore the aircraft and meet crew members. It is surely an event they will remember for the rest of their lives.
The event was made possible because the VOE teacher that ordered the special arrival has a brother who is a member of the Army’s elite National Guard unit that does school visits in support of the D.A.R.E. program. The California National Guard also uses these appearances to show students positive, healthy lifestyles and career paths that can be achieved if they don’t use drugs. Plus, the students get a close-up look at the helicopter and get the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the pilot and crew. The students, their teacher said, were excited by the helicopter’s arrival which was made possible by a coordination of the efforts of the teachers, staff and parents participating in this event. The teacher reported that after the helicopter landed, the kids were so excited they were hugging each other.
The helicopter’s arrival caused quite a lot of community excitement, too. There were comments on the community social media pages as the helicopter flew low just above treetop level as it approached over Cedarpines Park on its way in to land in VOE.
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