Class Four students entering secondary school from September are being encouraged to make the right choices as they transition into adulthood.

The students received words of advice recently from Registrar of the Supreme Court of Barbados, Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, as she addressed the annual In the Winners??? Circle: Making the Right Choice programme.

The programme, hosted by the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit (formerly the National Task Force on Crime Prevention), is being held at the University of the West Indies??? Solution Centre.

Mrs. Cooke-Alleyne said that too often, 11-year-olds were coming before the Juvenile Court for a range of issues, including drug possession, wandering, theft, shoplifting, causing disturbances and cyberspace crime.

The Registrar said she was pleased that issues of drug awareness, self-esteem building, bullying and peer pressure would be addressed at workshops currently under way for Class Four students at schools across the island.

In her address, Roberta Lady Simpson, also encouraged the students to be leaders and not followers, as they embarked on a new chapter of life.?????Be diligent. Have respect for others, your teachers, peers, and each other. More importantly, you need to respect [persons in] authority,??? she stressed.

While cautioning the students to be careful of whom they chose for a friend, Lady Simpson also encouraged the students to study and pay attention to their school work.

???The Winners??? Circle is for all of you, but only the ones who make the best choices will end up there. Make up your mind today to be a winner,??? she implored the youngsters.

The workshops continue for other Class Four students on Tuesday, May 19, Thursday, May 21, Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, at Marian Retreat House, Verdun, St. John.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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