Children at Mead School in Ansonia put aside their books and pencils for a few hours Wednesday and instead learned about how to avoid being accident victims as they cross the street or walk to school.
The school hosted several activities as part of an observance of “International Walk to School Day.”
For example, a “Put On The Brakes” exercise taught the youngsters what any student of Isaac Newton knows: you can’t simply stop on a dime, and neither can a speeding automobile.
Mead School teachers and Griffin Hospital nurses lined up the children in small groups and had them sprint toward a line of orange cones. At the sound of a whistle, the runners tried to stop dead.
Of course, they couldn’t. Nor can a motorist if a child darts in front of his or her car.
It was all part of a program by the Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley Chapter, which is headquartered at Griffin Hospital.
“When we became a Safe Kids chapter, this was one of the first things we became involved with,” said chapter coordinator Cathi Kellett.
“This is the first year we’ve done this,” said Mead School Principal Terri Goldson, who noted that Ansonia Police Chief Kevin Hale and Mayor James Della Volpe appeared at the school early that morning to show their support for the program.
The program divided the children into two groups, those in kindergarten to third grade and those grades four through six.
Both groups practiced the same activities, except that the older children also got to practice actually crossing the street with a helpful crossing guard’s assistance.
Goldson said the afternoon kindergarten class would have its own Safe Kids program later in the day.
Prendergast School will have a similar program next spring.
And Mead School students will learn about fire safety and school bus safety in programs later this month by the Ansonia Fire Department and All-Star Transportation, the school bus company.
Also on hand were employees of FedEx, a co-sponsor of Safe Kids, who taught the children that trucks have blind spots.
“We want the kids to see that sometimes drivers can’t tell what’s around them,” said FedEx Senior Manager Tony Perce.
The Ansonia Police Department’s School Resource Officer, Mike Barry, was also at the school to teach children what to do if a police car or other emergency vehicles approach with sirens and emergency lights on.
Another activity involved the children cover their eyes with wax paper to simulate traveling with low visibility.
“The whole idea is if it’s very foggy and you can’t see, can the car see you?” Griffin Hospital RN Cary Carpino asked the children.
“No!” they replied in unison.
Kellett said the Safe Kids chapter sent all the youngsters home with a reflective zipper pull to put on their coat or backpack, a coloring book full of safety lessons, and a tip sheet for parents on how to keep their children safe when walking in traffic or riding their bicycles.
