Chroming WTF!

[Disco]

Disco, you got to look at the school mate. Lack of supervision, 43 kids geez.

Pricipal or the year coordinator, whoever was in charge needs to pull their head out of their arse.

Thank god you have a smart kid.

I am going to email them tomorrow as you can bet your balls you won't get onto anybody of interest after this mess...Plus I bet they themselves arnt real happy with the situation they are now involved in...

[Possum]

I am going to email them tomorrow as you can bet your balls you won't get onto anybody of interest after this mess...Plus I bet they themselves arnt real happy with the situation they are now involved in...

Now this is the kicker, you my find that the school won’t recognise your email as correspondence. They will require a formal letter (make sure you keep a dated copy)
Politics Wait until you get the letter from the school. I’ll give you a call tomorrow

[Kermit]

Chroming not exactly new, with each new generation the name changes; however the mode of transmission is pretty much always the same, some may remember the term "huffing". Petrol, butane, thinners, propane, soda bulbs etc.

Its a combination of peer pressure, ease of access/cost & boredom that get them into it.

Did have one kid come in a while back who aspirated on there vomit after he stopped breathing following huffing. He stayed in ICU for two weeks on a ventilator as he developed aspiration pneumonia (bacteria from your GUT goes into your lungs), followed by another 3 weeks on the ward.

Went out to the kid's school (that will remain unnamed) to give a talk to the rest of students regarding huffing, they didn't seem interested.

I think if there was a practical demonstration involved of them receiving tubes into every orifice, they think twice before sniffing crap.

Political correctness states we may now only whisper in there ear.

[funky]

As stupid as it is, Very popular pasttime.
whem i worked in Glenroy next suburb of Broadmeadows, i was forever asking chromers to leave my plumbing store.
Came very close to blows due to their altered state and them getting very aggressive.

[Richo]

I thought you were talking about this:

Errr .. me too ..

WTF ..

Im locking mine up til 30 now

[fireyrob]

If only KFC came in a spray can

[red_dave]

Chroming has definitely been around for a while...

It was really bad with the kids in Ipswich about 12 years ago. The wife used to run the SCA there and they had constant struggles to stop the little bastards from stealing the cans.

Rip it into them, Disco!

[Maddog]

Good luck with it all Disco.
Hope my daughter grows up to be as sensible as yours and refuses to partake in this type of shinnanagins.

[Disco]

Here is the principal's blog entry today I bring your attention to the bold text if I read this it dosn't sound so bad .....A few is a lot more now than when I went to school ....

Substance Abuse

This week has seen Year 7 go off to camp which is a very positive event for the students and the school. The students really enjoy the camp and as a school always receive glowing reports from the organisers of the camps.

There were a few students who chose an inappropriate behaviour whilst on camp. This behaviour could have been the result of peer pressure or just the students choosing to be part of a group. Interestingly enough the goal of the camp is to pursue the Peer Support program we have running during terms 1 and 2.The behaviour was dangerous to say the least and I have included some information taken from the internet to demonstrate just how serious the behaviour was and how lucky we all are that no serious effects were demonstrated by the students as a result of the behaviour.

Regardless of which inhalant is used, improper administration can lead to death or injury. One major risk is hypoxia or lack of the body’s ability to absorb oxygen, which can occur due to inhaling fumes from a plastic bag, or from using proper equipment but not adding oxygen or room air. Many inhalants are volatile organic chemicals and can catch fire or explode, especially when combined with smoking. As with many other drugs, users may also injure themselves due to loss of coordination or impaired judgment, especially if they attempt to drive.

Solvents have many potential risks in common, including pneumonia, cardiac failure or cardiac arrest, and aspiration of vomit. The inhaling of some solvents can cause hearing loss, limb spasms, and damage to the central nervous system and brain. Serious but potentially reversible effects include liver and kidney damage and blood-oxygen depletion. Death from inhalants is generally caused by a very high concentration of fumes. Deliberately inhaling solvents from an attached paper or plastic bag or in a closed area greatly increases the chances of suffocation. Brain damage is typically seen with chronic long-term use as opposed to short-term exposure.

In the short term, death from solvent abuse occurs most common as inhalation of vomit while unconscious or from a combination of respiratory depression and hypoxia, the second cause being especially a risk with heavier-than-air vapours such as butane or gasoline vapour. Deaths typically occur from complications related to excessive sedation and vomiting. Most deaths from solvent abuse could be prevented if individuals were resuscitated quickly when they stopped breathing and their airway cleared if they vomited. However, most inhalant abuse takes place when people inhale solvents by themselves or in groups of people who are intoxicated. Certain solvents are more hazardous than others, such as gasoline.

We have (I think) found most (if not all) of the offenders. Their behaviour has been punished. As a result of this we are organising to have Year 7 addressed by a member of the police about substance abuse.

As I said earlier, the camp was a continuation of the Peer Support program. At XXXXXXXXX, we place a great deal of emphasis on our students supporting each other in good times and bad. We encourage students to be resiliant, to be able to say no to peer pressure (I know it is not always easy to do so) and to be able to ensure their friends and mates do not do the wrong thing. During the camp we had ample demonstrations of this in action and with the assistance of our senior leaders were able to nip this in the bud before it got out of hand.

As parents and teachers, it is our responsibility to model and enforce behaviours that do not lead to anti-social and often illegal behaviours or behaviours that are dangerous. I believe the process we initiated as a result of the camp demonstrated just that. I would also like to thank the parents of the students involved for their support.

[fireyrob]

Peer Support obviously works! The older students didnt bring in their boyfriends for the week did they?

[Blurr]

mmmmm I'd say the circus is about to begin

[Jonno]

Change schools

[Nelso]

A couple of points come to mind when reading everyone's posts.

Firstly, kids don't do this sort of stuff through boredom. They often take risks to fit in and establish themselves in the pecking order of a peer group, or to self harm due to self esteem issues, or to escape reality, or because it's fun to feel the effects; but not because they are bored. After working with dysfunctional kids I can tell you there are always driving motives for their behaviours. In this case it sounds like it would be more of the first example. You'll find there will be a core group of ring leaders and the rest will be kids just trying to be 'cool' like them. It's the same reason they start smoking, or go out and drink excessive amounts on weekends etc. Believe me when I tell you that teenagers do stupid things and don't think of the consequences to themselves or others. They are a messes up group of people desperately trying to fit in, who's behaviour is rarely driven by logic.

Secondly, schools are helpless and have no power to stop any of these behaviours because of years of parents complaining about the unfair treatment of their poor children. I would bet that if teachers were randomly walking into students sleeping quarters to check on them, people would be up in arms about the kids lack of privacy and the inappropriate behaviour of the teachers. You can't have it both ways. If you want teachers to have the power to discourage these behaviours, you need to give them the power to do so. If you want to be politically correct and give children the freedom of adults, expect schools to be helpless with these sort of things. Honestly, if any of you walked into a school these days you would be disgusted by the amount of red tape and bullshit you have to deal with to even put a child on a lunch detention! The lack of common sense that has allowed the school system to degrade into what it has become is astounding and it has all been driven by the stupid selfish parents complaining about the treatment of their, more often than not, degenerate kids.

Sadly, the only way to change these situations is to change the system but it's on a downward spiral and the government is talking about cutting more costs, so it's only going to get worse.

[Blurr]

Secondly, schools are helpless and have no power to stop any of these behaviours because of years of parents complaining about the unfair treatment of their poor children. I would bet that if teachers were randomly walking into students sleeping quarters to check on them, people would be up in arms about the kids lack of privacy and the inappropriate behaviour of the teachers. You can't have it both ways. If you want teachers to have the power to discourage these behaviours, you need to give them the power to do so. If you want to be politically correct and give children the freedom of adults, expect schools to be helpless with these sort of things. Honestly, if any of you walked into a school these days you would be disgusted by the amount of red tape and bullshit you have to deal with to even put a child on a lunch detention! The lack of common sense that has allowed the school system to degrade into what it has become is astounding and it has all been driven by the stupid selfish parents complaining about the treatment of their, more often than not, degenerate kids.

Sadly, the only way to change these situations is to change the system but it's on a downward spiral and the government is talking about cutting more costs, so it's only going to get worse.

mate couldnt agree more in relation to the amount of control teachers have out there. It is a joke. Even to the point that kids are now taught they cant fail anything and you cant grade them as such. The real world doesnt work that way so why should or education system.

As to the not being able to monitor kids whilst they are in your care I find hard to swallow.

1 or 5 sneaking under the radar and doing something wrong then sure I could understand. But how can teachers not monitor near 50 kids to the point where they can carry doinf this for 2 nights in a row. Thats a bloody big blind spot if you ask me.
If they were in a dorm the surely you can monitor it. If they had shared motel rooms then that has to be alot of kids moving between rooms unnoticed.

I agree that parents need to suck it up a bit if they want teachers to also be guardians however it does seem like a big balls up on the schools end here if they cant even notice that number of kids playing up whilst in their care

[mohawk miss]

. Even to the point that kids are now taught they cant fail anything and you cant grade them as such. The real world doesnt work that way so why should or education system.

it was reported in the media yesterday that british primary schools are forbidding children from having "Best Friends" so that the kids who aren't the Bestie don't have their feelings hurt.

I think there is a whole generation coming along who think that is their right to do exactly as they want because there is no repercussions to what they do, as they have been protected from everything from having hurt feelings to never losing at any competition ( what IS this crap about "nobody loses" FFS!? They pull this crap at my great - nieces school)