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Kids get an education on safety at Passport to Safety Day

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Parents and children in kindergarten through 8th grade had an opportunity to learn the importance of safety Aug. 26, 2014, at Nathan F. Twining Elementary and Middle School here.

Topics ranged from safety at home to safety at school, and everything in between.

"Our goal with this event today was to give parents and kids information about how to be safe at home and at school, and on the way to and from, especially since there will be no school busses offered this year for transportation," said Kelly Painter, school liaison officer.

Activities included a bicycle safety course for 3rd through 8th-graders, hands-on fire extinguisher practice and safety patrol sign-ups. There were also several information tables at the event that offered the school traffic plan for when school begins, as well as a carpooling directory, new school security guidelines, and supervision options for before and after school.

Camden Larsen, 12, an incoming 6th-grader at Schroeder Middle School in the city of Grand Forks, set up a crosswalk safety demonstration for children.

"Having this setup here is important because kids need to know about pedestrian safety," said Larsen. "We need to set the example for the younger kids."

At the bike rodeo, children learned about the importance of wearing proper safety gear and using proper hand signals while riding.

"The important thing is to get kids thinking about the rules of the road while they're out on the streets and sidewalks riding their bikes to and from school," said Staff Sgt. Ruben McMahon, 319th Security Forces Squadron. "If they know the proper etiquette for hand signaling while on their bikes, other drivers on the road will be able to predict their movements and prevent a possible accident from occurring."

Tech. Sgt. Timothy Davis from the 319th Air Base Wing Safety Office further emphasized the importance of wearing a helmet with an egg drop demonstration, where eggs were dropped into a bucket wearing an egg-sized "helmet" and remaining intact.

"Everyone knows that it's always safer to ride a bike with a helmet than without one," said Davis. "We wanted to give kids a visual as to the reason why. The helmet is meant to absorb any impact in the event of an accident and prevent serious injury, but if the helmet isn't there, then their head absorbs that impact and could cause a serious injury."

Painter said she hoped kids and parents were able to take away the importance of safety from the event, and hopefully get excited about the upcoming school year in the process.

"Safety for our students is and always has been a top priority," said Painter. "There might be a bit of a learning curve this year while we all get used to the new routine, but I think once that happens, we will be in for a smooth and productive school year."