For immediate release
October 12, 2000

CAVEAT Day returns

        Secondary students from across Hastings and Prince Edward will come together October 26 to learn about making their schools and communities safer, more peaceful places to be. The Child and Youth Counsellor team fo the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board is holding their fourth CAVEAT Day at Belleville's Quinte Alliance Church. Building on past successes, CAVEAT Day will introduce area high school students to anti-violence initiatives they can take back to their schools.
CAVEAT (Canadians Against Violence Everywhere Advocating its Termination) is a non-profit charitable organization, founded in 1992 by Priscilla de Villiers, of Burlington, Ontario, after the murder of her daughter, Nina. CAVEAT puts an emphasis on education as a tool to break the cycle of violence.
        CAVEAT Day was introduced to Hastings and Prince Edward schools by Counsellors, Wendy Sutherland and Janice Walker, in 1996 as a response to the deaths of three Belleville teens: Mark Fyke, Shawn Keegan and Rebecca Middleton. Thanks to CAVEAT Day, many anti-violence initiatives have been introduced to local high schools.
        There is a variety of secondary school representation at CAVEAT Day. Each of the eight secondary schools in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board will be invited, as well as representation from alternative programs, the local Catholic Secondary Schools, and The Sir James Whitney School. Each school will form a school-based CAVEAT Committee of up to ten students and a staff advisor. Students will then attend the CAVEAT Day workshops and planning sessions to bring back to their school the skills and ideas learned throughout the day.
        CAVEAT Day 2000 workshops include: Hate Crimes; Alcohol, Drugs, and Gambling in Youth; The Deadly Consequences of Drinking and Driving; Appreciating Diversity and Tolerance; Random Acts of Kindness Week; Gang Violence; Violence in Dating; and Date and Acquaintance Assault.
 

For more information contact:
Sarah Hopper, Child & Youth Counsellor,  966-1170  ext. 2451