Lunchtime at Edgewood Middle School is being used to teach students about safety. Warsaw Police Department School Resource Officer Roy Navarro said he wanted students to have something fun during their lunch hour that also taught safety. During lunch hour on Fridays, students have been learning emergency safety including CPR, using a fire extinguisher and contests to remember to wear a seat belt in the car and to stop, drop and roll. Safety training was provided by Warsaw Police, Warsaw–Wayne Fire Territory and Lutheran?EMS. “A lot of parents contacted me and asked if I could do something to teach safety,” Navarro said. Navarro began doing the safety activity in a fun way, having students race to see how fast they could get seat belts on, or training kids to stop, drop and roll if they catch fire. “It’s like recess in middle school,” said Ian Peloza, eighth-grader. In addition to the fun, Principal Jo Ella Smyth said she hopes what the students learn could save a life in the future. Smyth said one year her daughter’s Halloween costume caught on fire. Her daughter’s training in safety procedures saved her life. Kaitlynn Gordon, eighth-grader, said that story resonated with her. “I think we’ve learned things that will be useful,” she said. Wednesday, in culmination of what the students had learned, a relay race was held. Students broke into teams of 10, and ran a relay race consisting of CPR, pulling a dummy, stop, drop and roll, spraying bottles like a fire extinguisher, and getting in cars and putting seat belts on. Multiple local business donated prizes for the event. Students who didn’t participate in the race were able to do a scavenger hunt where they collected answers from emergency personal to turn in for prizes. “The thing that makes this unique is that it’s not the school, the whole community is involved in this,” Smyth said. Navarro added the event was a good way for the students to get to know the police in the area, and learn to trust the police as they get older.
