POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 29 PANS in the community High school student Jamie Vaive is comfortable speaking to fellow students about sensitive, important issues. She has been urging her peers to get out of unhealthy relationships. She has also been promoting a positive use of social media. “It’s not abnormal to have struggles going through high school,’’ says Vaive, a Grade 12 student at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown. She and several other students have been delivering positive messages in a presentation called Healthy Me. The presentation was delivered last month to Grade 7 students at Queen Charlotte Intermediate School and will be given soon to students at Birchwood Intermediate School. “It was a really good, unique experience,’’ says Luke Pound, a Grade 12 Colonel Gray student also involved in the project. “It felt really good trying to help people ... everyone makes mistakes, but it is just important to learn from them.’’ Charlottetown Police Const. Tim Keizer, a resource officer at Colonel Gray, says the presentation can be used as a template to go out and speak to students. He says the message hits home coming from fellow students. “There’s a much greater buy-in when it comes from the kids because they are their peers,’’ says Keizer. The constable says the students have been addressing social media, self-esteem, anti-bullying, and coping skills in their presentations. “They’re trying to make sure that the kids don’t gravitate towards unhealthy choices,’’ he says. Students are informed of many supports that are available to help steer them down a good path. The 14 high school students and UPEI student Danielle MacDonald involved in this initiative have received the Mayor’s Award for enriching the lives of others within the City of Charlottetown. The students receiving the award along withVaive, Pound, and MacDonald are Aaron Ryder, Bailey Birt, Coulton Duckworth, Heidi Hennessey, Lisa Rogerson, Maja Garic, Mathurin Carr-Rollitt, Matt Smith, Maya Singleton, Olivia Wigmore, Stephen MacMillan and Jayne Whitehead. Sharing sound advice By Jim Day, The Guardian – as originally published on May 29, 2015 High school students raise serious issues with peers
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