Superior CVI students get first-hand education in reducing risk

Grade 11 students at Superior CVI high school in Thunder Bay got a close, and sometimes harrowing, look at the consequences of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and other high-risk behaviours on Wednesday, as the school once again ran its annual P.A.R.T.Y. program.

P.A.R.T.Y., which stands for Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth, showed Grade 11 students the possible negative outcomes of risky behaviour, as well as ways they can make safer choices and reduce risks.

"We try to expose the students to the information so they would modify the behaviour," said Josef Brecka, health care and sciences teacher at Superior. "Select activities that are healthier, activities that don't involve some of that risk-taking that is related to alcohol, drugs and other issues."

Throughout the day, Grade 11 students rotated through eight stations.

For example, at one station, students watched a video about the dangers of texting and driving, and then were taken to a mock-up of a hospital trauma room, where nurses walked them through how traumatic injuries are treated with help of a dummy.

"It's good to show them real life," said nurse Dawne Gleeson, who was working at the trauma room station. "I think they need to see it."

"I don't think it gets through to everybody, but I think they will remember stuff," she said. "They need to understand that there's choices that you can make."

Another station saw students discussing substance use and abuse with a youth counsellor, and at another station, injury survivors made a presentation.

Students also had the opportunity to wear "fatal vision" goggles, which simulate the effect of alcohol on vision. Students wore the goggles while trying to complete a simple task.

"Students get to see how the blood alcohol content changes your motor functions, and everything about how you move and what you do," said Jacqueline Grace, a Grade 12 student who was running the fatal vision station. "It's quite eye-opening."

Grace went through the P.A.R.T.Y. program last year.

"It changed the way I thought about a lot of things," she said. "It really changed the way I thought about drinking as a young person."

"It's really important for us young people to learn about what really happens when you're being unsafe when you're drinking, and when you're drinking too much."

A worthwhile program

Grade 11 student Carly Martin said the P.A.R.T.Y. program is a worthwhile one for students.

"Everything was super-informative, and all the stations had something really great to offer," she said. "It really resonates with Grade 11 students, especially, because lots of people are getting their driver's licence. So I really think it is an important lesson, and I think that people really will take a lot away from it."

Brecka said the P.A.R.T.Y. program is offered in schools across Ontario, including other high schools in Thunder Bay.

He added that at Superior, students are asked to fill out an evaluation form after completing it, and one thing organizers have heard is that the P.A.R.T.Y. program should be offered earlier than Grade 11.

Later this year, Brecka said, a modified and shortened version will also be given to Grade 9 students.