No tobacco on the Farm

Source from:  denver.yourhub.com by: Nancy Mickelson on 9/24/2007  09/26/2007

Here we are a month into school and the administration is happy to announce that the new No Tolerance Tobacco Policy at WRHS is effectively working to help keep our students tobacco free at school. All the teachers and administration have tickets to write to students that might violate the tobacco policy. As of this date, we have had4 tickets written to students that violated the policy. This is very positive! The new tobacco policy was delivered to all students at registration by the SWAT team, and at that time the students were asked to help their friends that use tobacco with letting them know that as a friend and peer they are concerned with their health and it is notOK to use tobacco around them. "If you never told the people around you that it is not cool to use tobacco, then they would think it wasOK with you if they did." Bottom line, we care about you! While using tobacco is and will continue to be the user's choice, we only ask that you please not use tobacco on school property. We will continue to use our efforts to help the tobacco users get education about tobacco dangers, as well as offering the NOT class (Not on Tobacco), now on the third year, to those that are ready to quit tobacco. The students that have made the choice to use tobacco have gone across the street from school and use tobacco there. This is not a "social norm" that is acceptable with Wheat Ridge High School, the City of Wheat Ridge, or Jefferson County Public Schools. It is written in their policies that it is Illegal to use or possess tobacco on any Jefferson County School property. Please refer to the tobacco-free schools policy ADC. I have worked with these students and I have offered them other spots to go to hang out with their peers. I have also spent many hours talking to them to help them find a new place to hang out and not use tobacco. The choice they have made to walk across Holland and use Tobacco are not good choices. We are at the present time working with WRPD to find comparable alternatives to help with this problem. Lets all continue to work together to help keep our youth Tobacco free! Enditem