Photo By Crystal Schut
The safety and health of our kids and community is the theme of a recently announced evening program presented by the Deer Park School District. Topics will include drugs, online safety, and some things to be aware of as the population grows in Deer Park.
The school district is partnering with Spokane Regional Health and Northeast Educational Service District 101 staff to teach parents about topics of interest expressed by our Deer Park community. Parents of all age group kids are invited to come to the event.
The informational evening will be held on January 25th between 6:00pm – 7:30pm. Check-in will begin in the Deer Park High School Commons area at 5:30pm snacks and refreshments will be available until the event starts. The evening will be broken into three 25-minute topic sessions. The school is providing structured childcare for families needing assistance with their school-age children during the presentations. However, they ask that everyone RSVP so they can plan accordingly. You can RSVP at DPGazette.com/dphsinrsvp.
The first session begins at 6pm and will be presented by Misty Challinor and Wendy Brizendine, staff from Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD). The session is called Fentanyl/Opioid FAQs: Facts and How To Hold Age-Appropriate Conversations With Kids. Challinor and Brizendine will share facts about the danger associated with the increasing prevalence of Fentanyl, the ways this powerful opioid is being packaged for and marketed to children, and how parents can have age-appropriate conversations with their children. It’s a vitally important and very timely message every parent needs to hear.
The second session, called Online Safety: How To Keep Children Safe Online (and not overshare), will be presented by Steve Schreiner, an Educational Technology Specialist from the regional Educational Service District, starting at 6:25 pm. Schreiner will share important parental information about social media use and Internet safety. In addition, he will provide insights about some common pitfalls associated with using specific social media applications and share recommendations for how parents can increase their child’s safety by “avoiding the overshare” that can put children at risk.
The last session of the night will begin at 6:50pm and is called Deer Park Facilities And Growth In The Community: Learn About How Deer Park Plans To Continue Providing Safe, Up To Date Facilities To Serve Our Students And The Community. The session will be presented by Deer Park’s Superintendent, Travis Hanson. He will provide an update on the work of the district’s Facilities Advisory Committee and the DPSD’s plans for responding to the unprecedented growth Deer Park is experiencing. Particularly how the school has plans for updates and additions to school facilities, ensuring that Deer Park School District will continue to offer safe, secure, and modern educational environments for kids in this community for years to come.
If you have any questions, they ask that you contact Deer Park’s Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Alexa Allman, at [email protected].
Sources:
Deer Park School District, and Travis Hanson. “DPSD INFORMATION EVENING: INFORMATION PARENTS WANT. INFORMATION PARENTS NEED.” Deer Park School District, 30 December 2022, www.dpsd.org/article/948370. Accessed 30 December 2022.
