City of Yorkton recognizes young safety patrollers at ceremony

WATCH: On Friday, the City of Yorkton hosted the CAA safety patrol installation ceremony for students from St. Paul’s School.

On Friday afternoon, the Mayor of Yorkton welcomed students from St. Paul’s School to recognize their dedication to school safety.

“Our teacher was picked to be to lead safety patrol, so then all of the class got to do safety patrol,” said Beckett Thomas, a Grade 6 student who is one of Yorkton’s school safety patrollers.

Along with 20 of her peers, Beckett was at Yorkton City Hall on Friday afternoon to accept a certificate that recognizes her dedication to the community.

“I recommend this because it helps keep children safe and it prevents accidents,” she told CTV News, after her fellow students cheered in the background for her bravery to stand in front of a news camera.

“The Safety Patroller program is done with the schools in mind and getting students involved in safety and getting them to be able to look after one another,” Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle said.

The first Safety Patrol Installation Ceremony was held in 2022. The program has been teaching young students to stay focused, to be dependable, and to set a positive example in their community, come rain or shine.

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“I just had to wear a vest and make sure there was no cars. And then my class would go to the other side at a sidewalk,” explained the rules Jake Mydonick, another student at St. Paul’s School.

Mayor Kienle said CAA Saskatchewan put together a manual the students train and learn from. They also provide supplies, such as vests and STOP paddles.

To make sure the students understand the responsibility of being a safety patroller, they took a pledge in front of the mayor on Friday. Among their promises were to “look, act and be alert, report for duty on time, […] and to use and treat [their] safety vest and STOP paddle with respect.”

CAA is not the only organization that supports the program, however, as members of the Yorkton Fire Protective Services, Community Safety Officers, and the City’s Protective Services Committee also showed up at the ceremony.

After the pledges, the young patrollers were given a certificate and a gift basket provided by SGI.

“I know that I’m going to be able to count on you whether it’s weather like today or if it’s January Saskatchewan weather, or if it’s blistering hot in June. I know you’ll be there,” Quinn Haider, principal of St. Paul’s School and city councillor told the students.

“From all of our staff and the rest of the students at the school, thank you all very much for all the work that you do. We truly appreciate it!”