FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2004

CAVEAT Day emphasizes safe schools and communities for students
Students from across Hastings and Prince Edward counties will come together on November 5th to learn about making their schools and communities safer. The Child & Youth Counsellor team of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) is holding the eighth annual CAVEAT Day at Belleville’s Eastminster United Church. Building on past successes, CAVEAT Day is an excellent opportunity of training for students.

CAVEAT (Canadians Against Violence Everywhere Advocating its Termination) was a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1992 by Priscilla de Villiers of Burlington, Ontario after the murder of her daughter, Nina. In 1996, CAVEAT Day was introduced by the Child & Youth Counsellor team of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board as a response to the tragic deaths of three Belleville teens.

There is a variety of school representation at CAVEAT Day. Students from each of the eight secondary schools in the HPEDSB will be invited as well as representation from alternative programs, the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board and The Sir James Whitney School. In addition, a number of elementary schools have begun participating in CAVEAT Day and are bringing the benefits of this program back to their schools. Students form a school-based CAVEAT Committee upon return to their school in order to facilitate the skills and ideas learned throughout the day. CAVEAT emphasizes education as a tool to break the cycle of violence.

CAVEAT Day 2004 workshops include:
• Random Acts of Kindness
• Violence in Dating Relationships
• Homophobia Hurts
• Dangers of Cyber Space
• Restorative Practices within our Schools
• Safe Partying
• Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault

In addition to the above, Alice Lewis from St. Leonards Society of London will be a special guest this year, providing opening remarks as well as presenting two workshops. Ms. Lewis will discuss Restorative Practices Within Our Schools - Repairing Harm in a Restorative Way.”

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 54 schools serving 18,900 students and employing 1,083 teachers. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For more information, contact:
Jennifer Vincent, Child & Youth Counsellor, Quinte Secondary, 962-9295 ext. 2110