News

Whistles sound for school crossing safety

By Kayla Jones

May 7, 2024

Playing an important role: Students dressed as crossing supervisors to help their classmates cross the pretend road.

Everyone has a role in ensuring safety on our roads, which is why it's crucial young children are taught how to safely navigate roads and crossings.

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The School Crossing Education Program ran its first session on Tuesday, May 7, with the goal of supporting safe road habits in young children across Greater Shepparton.

The program, organised as a part of National Road Safety Week by Greater Shepparton City Council, was developed based on feedback from school crossing supervisors in the area.

When the whistle was blown and activities started, students discussed the crucial safety steps — stop, look, listen, and think — with program leaders.

Stop behind the yellow line on the footpath, look at the traffic and the supervisor, listen for the two short blasts of the whistle and think and walk across between the two white lines when safe.

Stop, look, listen, think: Students familiarised themselves with the features of a school crossing, and were taught how to cross carefully.

Students learnt how to correctly cross the road by staying behind the yellow line until the whistle is blown twice and walking — not running — to the other side.

They applied the things they learnt by re-enacting a scene using a pretend crossing.

Students wore high-vis jackets and held stop signs and whistles as ‘lollipop’ people, helping their classmates cross safely.

Meanwhile, other students took on important roles as flag poles and drivers.

Students left the session with a clear idea of how to safely cross the road, and a certificate, colour in sheet and sticker to commemorate their learning.