ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 22, 1996 TAG: 9602230004
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HANCOCK STAFF WRITER
When Ashley Richardson, a fifth-grader at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School, got separated from her mother at the mall, she asked an employee to page her mother.
If a stranger calls when her parents aren't home, Amanda Billingsley, 11, says she would tell the stranger her parents can't come to the phone right now.
These are a few of the safety measures 4,000 Roanoke Valley students have learned during the past five years from volunteers in Red Cross First Aid for Children Today and Basic Aid Training classes.
The program, which includes first aid, nutrition, personal hygiene, fire safety, water safety and environmental issues, is available to any school that requests it, but the Red Cross needs more volunteers to fill all of the requests, said Betty Whittaker, Red Cross assistant director for health and safety.
The hour-long classes are held once a week for six weeks.
"The students are excited about it," said Vanessa Holmes, who teaches basic aid training to fourth- and fifth-graders at Lincoln Terrace. "They tell stories about how they were able to help someone after having the class."
The Red Cross provides a workbook that presents health and safety information in a way that is fun for children.
Holmes uses other aids to teach the class. "When I taught the class on healthy living, I brought in food - celery, green peppers, cucumbers and things like that for the children to taste."
Holmes uses role playing to teach children what to do if they call 911. "I pretended I was the 911 operator, and when I asked one girl if she was home alone, she nodded. I said, `I can't hear you nodding over the telephone.' I told them that they have to speak clearly and stay calm."
In teaching the students to be observant as a means of avoiding abduction, Holmes asked a school visitor to walk into the classroom without acknowledging her or the teachers, pick something up and walk out. She wanted to see how much the children would remember.
They remembered the clothes, hair color and eye color and noticed that the visitor picked up a book.
"Good," said Holmes, "You all might need to remember what a person looks like to give a description to the police."
Other safety tips the Lincoln Terrace youngsters have learned include:
* Not getting into a car with others without parental permission.
* Wearing house keys inside clothing.
* Telling the difference between abuse and discipline. "If it's REALLY painful and leaves welts, or if your friend comes to school almost every day with marks and bruises, something is wrong," Holmes said.
* Dialing 911 only for emergencies.
At the end of her class, Holmes reviewed what had been learned during previous weeks. The students demonstrated the Heimlich maneuver and talked about the healthy foods that they tasted the week before.
"I think this program is really good. I wish other people in the community would consider getting involved," said Holmes, whose Red Cross volunteer work led to her present job as a nurse.
Whittaker said the Red Cross provides free training for its volunteers.
"What's really neat is that we can teach anyone how to deal with different types of students. We teach different methodologies, discipline issues, how to use appropriate audio-visual equipment and the Red Cross mission. It's a broad overview, but it makes our instructors comfortable in the classroom," she said.
To volunteer or get more information, call Betty Whittaker, 985-3542
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Vanessa Holmes, a volunteer in the Redby CNBCross First Aid for Children Today and Basic Aid Training program,
teaches pupils at Lincoln Terrace Elementary the importance of using
smoke detectors in the home. Fourth-grader Adrian English (left)
reacts to the sound the alarm makes.