Each year, the 5th graders have the opportunity to participate in Safety Patrol. This is a pretty big deal that requires interested students to submit an application as well as letters of reference and then take part in a scheduled interview with the principal. Once accepted, students can sign up for either morning or afternoon patrol. During morning patrol, members help make sure that younger students get to their building/classroom safely; during afternoon duty, members help keep everyone quiet during pick-up and answer any questions the younger students may have. 5th graders who participate must keep up their academic and conduct grades or else they will be put on probation. Students typically take their jobs seriously.
At the end of the school year, we thank them for their service by providing a Safety Patrol Luncheon in their honor. We usually treat them to either pizza or subs, a dessert, and then we play games/trivia for prizes, followed by selected students reading aloud their Safety Patrol essay. A few days before the luncheon, I require the students to write a brief essay about their Safety Patrol (SP) experience. In it, they include their assigned duty/post, what they enjoyed most about SP, what being a SP member taught them, and their most memorable moment while on patrol.
Here are a few photos from this year's luncheon, as well as two sample essays:
Playing a timed "Unscramble the Words" game
Finally, I'd like to share two essays. FYI, the students completed these on their own without any assistance from me. I was especially pleased with the first essay because of the word choice. The second essay knocked my socks off because it was written by a student who made
huge progress throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, I would never have guessed that this child would be able to write so eloquently. I am so proud!
First essay:
"
During my 5th grade year at CCS, I was a part of the Safety Patrol team. I was assigned afternoon duty. The best thing about being a Safety Patrol student was being able to help younger children learn how to behave at car pick-up and teaching them that bad behavior has consequences. My favorite Safety Patrol memory was when (insert another student's name
) loudly announced that I was her favorite Safety Patrol. One thing I learned during my time as a Safety Patrol was that sometimes being strict is better than giving a lot of grace. I learned this because very few children changed their behavior if I constantly gave them warnings and never gave strikes. In all, I enjoyed being a Safety Patrol student and wish I could have an opportunity to do it every school year."
Second essay:
"During my fifth grade year, I decided to commit to being a Safety Patrol member. As a Safety Patrol, you have two jobs available--morning and afternoon, or you can do both. At the first quarter of school, I did both, and at the second, I did afternoon. The best thing about being morning patrol is getting to see the school when it's vacant. The best part of being afternoon patrol is not needing to sit on the wall and do nothing. My favorite memory was when I had morning patrol and I got hot chocolate. Out of the whole year of being Safety Patrol, I learned how to be a better leader."
Thank you, 5th graders, for your service this year!
