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E-mail This StoryLEARNING: Wolford Elementary Students learn about bike safety from parent volunteers and McKinney firefighters.
By Jim Kilpatrick, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Wolford Elementary students geared up for their annual Bike and Scooter Safety Day with a safety lesson from parents and firefighters.
“The school puts it on for the children to learn safety with their bikes and scooters,” Jenny Stutlers, Wolford Elementary School Parent Teacher Association publicity director, said.
The program was sponsored by Wolford's PTA. The students learned how to use bicycle hand signals, cross-walk procedures, bicycle inspections and even how to fix their own bicycle chains. Micah Maxon, a local McKinney firefighter, also assisted the students with helmet adjustments to ensure a proper fit.
“I had a lot of fun at school day safety,” Emma Stutler said. “I learned a lot of things.”
Emma, 7, has been at Wolford since kindergarten and participated every year in the event. The students were given a sheet of paper to use as a check list as they went from station to station.
“They didn’t get any award for completing the event,” Stutler said. “But the check list included the serial number of their bike which could be filed away in case their bicycles were ever stolen.”
The entire school participated from kindergarten to the fifth grade in the day-long event. After completing all stations, the students were treated to popsicles provided by the PTA.
The students were able to practice their skills on an obstacle course and learn how to safely lock up their bikes.
“Everybody does the same thing except the kindergartners,” Wolford PTA president Lori Norman said. “We speak to them about bike safety and about wearing a helmet and they watch a brief video about bike safety.”
Norman said the PTA has been sponsoring the safety program year after year because they want their kids to have fun riding their bikes and give their parents piece of mind.
“We have sponsored this program ever since the school has been in existence, seven years," Norman said, “because we are a neighborhood school and have a lot of children that ride their bikes to school, we feel it is important that they are aware of bike safety.”
Contact Jim Kilpatrick at jkilpatrick@acnpapers.com.
