Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
I have discovered a whole new set of heroes, doing important work; definitely worth sharing.
Learning there was an event for our third graders at the Clovis Events Center, next to the fairgrounds, I dropped by to see what was going on.
“Farm Safety Day” is offered not only to all of our third graders from across the Clovis Municipal Schools district, but also third graders from around the region: Portales, Dora, Elida, Floyd, Bovina, Friona, Grady, San Jon, Texico, and Clovis Christian School. That’s quite a passel of little ones.
Chatting with Patrick Kircher, Roosevelt County 4-H agent, and Halee Prather (Curry County), I learned this was a program that has been going on annually for many years. Although the program is still called “farm safety” it has evolved to be a general safety program that introduces and/or reinforces safety measures covering a wide range of topics. This program takes place around the country and is conducted through the Progressive Agriculture Foundation, funded through grants, contributions, and sponsorships.
The day began with the arrival of hundreds of students, each group shepherded by teachers, educational assistants, and parent volunteers. At the point of entry was the registration table where students received a bright green t-shirt and matching bag containing a collection of goodies, complementing the presentations they would be visiting. Teachers received a map and schedule so they’d understand how to advance their groups through all the stations.
The presentations at the stations were lively and interactive, fully engaging students. Joining the sidelines of several of the presentations, it was easy to appreciate the knowledge and skills of the presenters not only in their own areas of expertise, but also their adeptness in interacting with students.
The Events Center was a perfect venue to hold such an event, so each station had plenty of room between to absorb the laughter, chants, songs, and lively conversations I heard along the way.
The stations were: food safety, 911 service, fire safety, electrical safety, gun safety, healthy living, water safety, railroad safety, animal safety, first aid practices, heavy equipment safety. Presenters were from the PAF and local business and industry entities.
Kircher was knowledgeable about the event, its history, and — most importantly — the outcomes.
He described incident after incident where either disaster had been averted and/or lives had been saved, directly attributable to what students learned at the safety day.
This was a truly impressive and massive event, driven by many dedicated individuals passionate about safety and teaching safety to more than 1,000 third graders who went through the program during the two days.
Also not to be forgotten was the heroic effort in feeding this lively bunch; hundreds of students, filing smoothly and seamlessly through the organized food section.
Our heartfelt thanks to all those involved in teaching our children how to make a safer world.
Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools and can be reached at:
