EducationNEWS>

Honoring Colville People of all ages!
RECOGNITION PHOTO ALBUM
Deadline For Photographs & Information
July 19, 2005

Colville tribal member achievers of all ages will be honored in a special section of the forthcoming July 2005 Tribal Tribune edition. This is your opportunity to recognize your own personal achievement(s) or of someone else including an award, a title, a scholarship, a certificate and graduations from Head Start, kindergarten, grade school, prep school, high school, college and vocational training. We would like to include engagement and wedding announcements and photographs/greetings from around the world too!

Send in your own or the person’s photograph, either in color or black and white, any size, and information including: name, age, hometown, parents or family affiliation, school and graduation date, and what the award/achievement is for. If you do not have a photograph, you are welcome to send in information about yourself or another person and we will feature it as a recognition tribute with no photo.

Photographs will be returned promptly, so please write the return name, address and zip on the back. Photographs tear easily, please don’t staple or tape your photographs to a letter or information sheet.

Send your contribution to this mailing address: Colville Achievers/Grads, Tribal Tribune, P.O. Box 150, Nespelem WA 99155. If you have any questions, please call (509 634-2222 or 634-2223.

To all the Graduating Seniors of 2005
To receive your gift from the Colville Tribe You must be:

1) Able to show proof of your graduation by transcripts, certificates or diplomas.
2) An enrolled member of the Colville Tribe.
For further information please contact: Alvina Cawston at Higher Education, 634-2779 for College Students, Sonia Zaugg at Public Education 634-2621 for High School students, or Diana Toulou at 634-2293 for the GED students.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
A time to celebrate...without alcohol

Grant County, Wash. - As graduation season rapidly approaches, parents, teens and school officials need to be aware of the alarming statistics related to alcohol (and other drug) use during these events and take steps to eliminate this as part of these celebrations. One night, one party, one event, can change a family’s life forever.

Here are the surprising statistics in the state of Washington:

  • One in every four 12th graders (25.8%), and almost one in every five 10th graders (18.7%) and even one in every ten 8th graders (10%) reported binge drinking (consumed five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks).

  • More than one in every three 12th (42.6%) grade students used alcohol in the last 30 days

  • More than half of 10th (60.4%) and 12th (72.6%) grade students say they have tried alcohol.

  • Alcohol use by 10th graders has increased by 3 percent since fall 2002.

  • A national study found that 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 15 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives (NIDA).

  • Approximately 1,400 college students will die from alcohol-related incidents by the end of the school year.

Despite the abundance of alcohol ads and community events that connect drinking with having fun, many parents believe teen prom and graduation parties will be safe and alcohol-free. But since alcohol is the number one drug of choice among teens, even “good” kids can end up in dangerous situations: riding in a car with a driver who’s been drinking, or attending a party where parents provide alcohol.

Parents should also know about their liability when it comes to underage drinking parties at their home. Kids DO NOT have to be 18 to be sued. Parents can be liable for accidents on their property whether or not they are home. There is no insurance coverage for intentional acts that occur at an unchaperoned party, including vandalism, fights, and date rape.

Here are steps parents can take:

  • Before sending a teen off to a party, talk with them about the immediate risks of drinking: overdosing on alcohol, being assaulted, or being seriously injured in a fall or car crash.

  • Don’t provide alcohol to minors, or ignore or condone underage drinking.

  • Listen to what your child says about “other kids.” Tell them you will come to get them any time they feel uncomfortable, no questions asked.

  • Make sure you know who they are with, when they will be home, and that there is adult supervision

  • Stay up until kids return home, and enforce consequences for drinking.
    Help is available for teens and parents to get more information about drug prevention and treatment.

The DSHS Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse contracts with the 24-Hour Alcohol and Drug Helpline to provide free information and referrals to treatment:
1-800-562-1240   www.adhl.org
Online information for parents and teens can be found at:
http://clearinghouse@adhl.org    www.drugfree.org    www.jointogether.org