Some Coldstream Students Learning to Make A Habit of Positive Choices

The Vernon School District has been working with children at Coldstream school on a drug and alcohol prevention program called “HABIT.”

One class of grade 6 and 7 students have been benefiting from the information with the assistance of psychologist Dr. Marvin Krank.

” HABIT ” stands for ” Healthy Automatic Behaviours Intentions and Thoughts.”

” Try to get them to move,  to actually to move toward considering their decisions, positive planning, intentions about what they’re going to do that would be a smart choice, as well as bring it into more of an automatic level where it becomes a habit.”

Dr. Krank says so far the response to the program, which is just in its early test phase, is good.

” They seem pretty enthusiastic about the curriculum. They like it. They like that it’s positive and that it’s interactive.”

Dr. Krank says these students have tremendous opportunity and potential.

” Their brains are growing. Their bodies are growing. They’re maturing mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. All of those areas and those are big areas of opportunity for the future. But they’re also a time of great vulnerability.”

HABIT is designed to try to help keep them from going off the rails.

The plan is to introduce the program into more classrooms next year and assess what the kids are getting out of it to help them in the future.