Ag Safety Day 2016
Those practical things that students usually don’t learn at school, third graders did the morning of Oct. 28. Smithville Elementary School hosted an Ag Safety Day with the help of Ag Extension Service Agent Rachel Bauer.
“We do this to offer safety training to youth to educate them to be aware of their surroundings and develop safe habits in their daily activities,” said Mrs. Bauer.
“And to teach safety practices to their parents,” she added.
Set up in stations around the campus, students took turns learning how to be safe in seven everyday situations.
As a group, they learned about passenger safety, the child appropriate height and weight to graduate from a car seat to a seat belt, staying out of seats with airbags, and the importance of buckling up that was highlighted with a vehicle rollover demonstration. Students, until age 13 or 4’9” tall, were urged to sit in the backseat, where it’s safest, with the chant “The Back Is Where It’s At.”
After breaking up into groups for 20-minute sessions, the students learned about firearm safety, boating and water safety, food preparation and germ safety, reptile safety, lawn mower and ATV safety.
“Many youth do not get this type of training at home or at school,” said Mrs. Bauer.
Not only did other staff of the Ag Extension Service bring lessons to the students, Mrs. Bauer also recruited volunteers from the Soil & Water Conservation District.
Our appreciation for bringing this program to the Elementary School goes to Mrs. Bauer and to Doug Floyd, Jason Mangold, Patrick Nicks, Hillary Long, Geri Kline, Bill Brooks, John Gillen, Jesse Tarin, Herbert Bartsch Jr., Norm Zetka, Gary Pflughaupt, Melvin Dube, and Jerry Ingram.
