More than 350 students from Prairie South School Division have a better understanding of how to be safe at school and at home after participating in several safety presentations.
The students from grades 7 and 8 took part in the third annual Moose Jaw Safety Day, held Nov. 6 at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Convention Centre. Nearly a dozen community organizations — such as police, fire, paramedics, St. John Ambulance, therapy dogs, SaskPower and the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association — spoke to students about the hazards they could face in life and how best to avoid or manage them.
Prairie South School Division, the Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions, the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company, the Progressive Agriculture Foundation, the Community Initiatives Fund, the Ministry of Agriculture, SaskPower, and Farm Credit Co-op all worked together to put on the event.
Attending the safety day was a good experience for Jesse Lesperance, a Grade 7 student at Prince Arthur Community School.
“It’s been pretty nice. It’s fun,” he said.
One tip he picked up is to not touch anything that could kill, such as a live wire or drugs. He explained that drugs could make you hallucinate and lead to death. He added that it’s important to be safe around equipment so you don’t get killed in a potential accident.
Prairie South School Division helped organized the event since division administrators and teachers have noticed a large need during the last few years for this type of information for their students, explained Brett Young, PSSD career development consultant.
This day allows students to acquire “little nuggets of information” about safety at home, at school and in society. The students move from station to station in groups and listen for 10 minutes as the presenters speak about safety in their particular area.
“We’re planting seeds. Some students already know this stuff, some don’t know this stuff (and) some of them they won’t get it for a few years,” Young said.
In determining which organizations to invite, event organizers looked to what students’ needs are and the issues teachers are handling in the classroom, he explained. For example, vaping, mental health, and babysitting are all topics teachers have had discussions about with their pupils.
What Young enjoys about the day is that all the organizations are working together to ensure the children learn how to be safe now and later on.
“Something may happen in the next few days to them … or it might be in a few years where they think, ‘Oh my gosh, I learned about that at safety day,’” he added. “It empowers them to make safe decisions in their lives in the future.”
