Osnovna škola "Mato Lovrak" Nova Gradiška

Various activities preventing drug abuse and other unhealthy behaviours are constantly carried out in our school through students, teachers and parents' education. Students learn about prevention in regular and optional classes, e.g. in Biology, Croatian language, Art, Music, Physical education, during their class meetings and extracurricular activities which are planned in the curiculum.

The purpose of the program is to bring all parties involved in prevention together in order to suppress deviant behaviour. The point in working with teachers, students and parents is to improve knowledge and skills that can promote healthy lifestyle and stress the importance of being healthy and prevent deseases, the goals which can be achieved by incorporating sports and other creative activities in our students' free time.

Here are some of the things we do in our school:

1. We organize lectures and workshops for students in Science, Biology and regular weekly class meetings such as:

- harmful efects of smoking

- alcohol addiction(Croatia's most common illness)

- addictions which threaten health and human lives

- growing-up problems of youths

- learn how to say no

- healthy lifestyle

- let's fight addiction together

2. We organize all sorts of activities connected to the Month of Fight against Psychoactive Drugs Dependency, e.g. workshops and lectures. Our students do projects to mark some important dates such as 17 November, World's Non-Smokers' Day, 13 March, World day without cigarette smoke and 31 May, World No Tobacco Day.

It is our belief that school should be a safe place without violence and fear and that sports can contribute considerably in achieving that goal. Students are engaged in all kinds of sports activities. They can play volleyball, basketball, handball, football or do gymnastics in our school club «Bedem». During the School Open Days our students do different projects like: Alcohol and drug abuse can be dangerous, Healthy eating habits, Prove yourself in sports, School Olympic games and Let's ride a bike to The Sava river.

Parents' meetings, lectures and workshops have been organized by doctors, policemen and members of the Red Cross Organization in order to educate parents about drug abuse and other addictions.

3. Teachers have been informed about the school prevention program in their regular staff meetings.

Creating a positive pedagogical environment and making our teachers, students and parents sensitive to prevention have the same goal: to diminish young people's interest in taking drugs, alcohol and smoking cigarettes as well as to promote healthy way of life for our students.

Slavica Ordanić Janošević, pedagogue