Organizations Turn Up to Educate Alcona Students on Winter Safety
Kindergarten through fifth grade students received a valuable lesson on safety on Tuesday with six different organizations coming to spread their expertise on safety in the winter.
“We have the coast guard talking about water safety so if you go skating or ice fishing,” said Tim Lee, principal of Alcona Elementary. “So, for kids to be aware and plan ahead if they go out ice fishing. We have the fire department here talking about safety in the winter time and understanding having fire safety plans for the home and emergency plans in place.”
Former Fire Chief Michael Serafin was one of the day’s teachers and helped make sure the kids know what to do in case of an emergency. “We teach them also about having a place to meet outside if there’s a fire in their house, about calling 911, about staying low below the smoke and the heat in the house by crawling out,” he said.
The students were able to move from one station to the next and learn from each department. A conservation office set up in the library to talk about how students should prepare when heading into the wilderness or on the ice.
The officer also brought along a collection of animal furs that kept the kids’ attention. “They like it a lot. They’re learning a lot,” said Lee. Obviously, for the little ones it’s a highlight when they get to hit the fire truck horn and hear all the noises. Seeing the plows as well, I think a lot of our kids didn’t realize how big the plows were, how big the tires were, and just some of the tools used by the plow trucks. They see them on the road and see the lights, but to see them up close, they’re pretty excited to see that.”
With all of the education and entertainment, Alcona Schools hopes to hold more programs like this in the future. “We wanted to develop an event with everyone here,” said Lee. “Planning on having different awareness, whether it’s winter safety or even in the fall for some fall safety stuff as well. So, absolutely.”
The event was organized with the help of District Health Department #2.
