Arlington School District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: January 30, 2008

Contact: Melissa Smith, Community Relations

802.375.2589, ext 147 ~ smithme@bvsu.org

Alcohol Awareness in Arlington

Arlington, Vt.,--Arlington Memorial High School & Middle School will host an alcohol awareness assembly for students in grades 6-12, Friday, February 15, from 8-9 a.m. in the school’s gymnasium. The assembly is free and open to the general public.

Guest speaker Deborah Gallant, an Emergency Medical Technician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and a weekly columnist for Manchester Journal’s Health Matters, will speak to students about the affects of alcohol on underage drinkers. “The experience of getting drunk is not something that every child needs to go through as a ‘growing experience.’ In fact, if a child has his or her first experience with alcohol or other drugs during the pre-teen or teen years, he or she is more likely to end up with a lifelong addiction.”

Arlington School District Nurse Amy Goodfellow, RN, invited Gallant to speak with the students. “I think Deborah’s message of underage drinking not being a rite of passage is an important one for students to hear. When students choose to drink, they often choose to participate in other risky behaviors that could affect their health and safety.”

For more information about Gallant’s presentation, contact Goodfellow at goodfellowam@bvsu.org or 375-2589, extension 113. To learn more about Arlington Memorial High School & Middle School, visit our website at www.arlingtonmemorialhs.org. The Arlington School District mission is to create a safe, caring, and respectful environment of academic excellence where students are uniquely challenged to reach their potential at the K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 levels.