First aid training prepares students for emergencies

Posted By Roger Newman

Posted 5 months ago

All Grade 10 students in Evergreen School Division are taking emergency first aid training as part of the division's two-year-old Career and Technology Studies (CTS) program.

Greg Palsson, consultant directing the CTS program, told the Evergreen board last Wednesday that senior physical education teachers have been certified as instructors for the first aid training, a new CTS initiative this year.

Palsson said grants from the Interlake Regional Health Authority and the Healthy Schools program have paid for the registration of students and most training equipment such as manikins and defibrillators. Much of the training has already taken place except in Gimli where a second group of 28 students is taking the course this semester.

"Not all participants received their certification, but the majority did," Palsson told trustees. "The very fact that 130 to 150 students will be certified as first responders each year is a great way for the division to support our local communities and reciprocate their support of CTS."

Palsson said the CTS program was launched to promote student use of technology and provide an opportunity for them to gain real life work experience by serving internships and apprenticeships with community businesses. He said the program is placing a "high priority" on teaching workplace safety to students before they venture into the community.

"Because it is critical to prepare students for the workplace, those who begin internships or apprenticeships must first take part in safety seminars and safety audits," Palsson told trustees. "Safe Workers of Tomorrow has trained almost all current Grade 11 and Grade 12 students to ready them for potential placements in the community. Current Grade 10 students will be involved in similar training this April."

The CTS consultant said 16 Evergreen students have registered this year for apprenticeship programs — seven in Arborg, three in Riverton and six in Gimli.

"These apprentices are expected to complete 50 credits before the end of the school year," he said. "We have also registered 37 students in first level internships and four students for second level internships in their areas of career interest. The number of students participating in internships has grown about 30 per cent over last year while apprentice internships are about the same and we would like to see more of them."

He said one Arborg student with a completed internship in geriatrics has gone on to register for nursing. "The internships have to be linked to a career," he added. "We have to make sure students are not getting out of school to wash dishes for a credit."

Palsson said Evergreen students — and especially those in Gimli — could benefit if a media and broadcasting study component is added to the CTS program.

"The idea is being explored," he said. "At present, I am conferring with the administration and media staff of Gimli High to determine the path we might take. Any curriculum we develop to support this or other pathways will be shared with out partners."

He said the ultimate success of the CTS program will depend on spreading the word about it to students and potential partners like community businesses. "We have a responsibility to ensure that the community is informed about the program," he said.

In other business, the board has:

* Partnered with Evergreen Basic Needs (EBN) to develop an application to the province for a new adult learning centre in Gimli. If approved, adults would be able to complete high school at the centre as an alternative to enrolling in regular high schools.

Evergreen Superintendent Paul Cuthbert said EBN is motivated to upgrade education and employment opportunities so that area residents will be less reliant on its services including a food bank and thrift store.

"We have sent a letter of intent to the province and our submission has to be in by the end of March," Cuthbert said. "The earliest start-up date for the centre would be July 2011. I am not too optimistic because there are lots of government cutbacks this year, but hopefully we will have some degree of success."

* Learned from Assistant Superintendent Doug Anderson that student suspensions have dropped significantly since the division re-wrote its suspension policy. The new policy includes a code of conduct that enables students to make restitution for some actions instead of being automatically suspended for a period of time.

Anderson also confirmed that a group of 91 teachers from Iceland will visit the division in June. "The group is so large that the teachers will be split up and visit our schools over three days," he said.