Anagh Coar Primary School received a hamper full of stationery after Year 6 pupils won a design competition at last month’s Crucial Crew week. Since it began in 1992, thousands of children have learned valuable life skills by attending the annual event which involves a range of organisations giving presentations with serious messages about safety, but delivered in a fun way. This year’s Crucial Crew took place from June 20th to 24th at University College Isle of Man (formerly Isle of Man College of Further & Higher Education) and included contributions from Isle of Man Constabulary, Coastguard, Manx Utilities, Manx Gas, Department of Health and Social Care School Nursing Service, Road Safety Unit, Bus Vannin, St John Ambulance and Manx Telecom.
A ‘Safety Challenge’ competition, sponsored by Shoprite, invited pupils to use what they learned to create a leaflet to promote safety. The Crucial Crew organising committee had the tough task of choosing a winner from the impressive artwork created by pupils from the 32 schools which took part. After a lot of deliberations, they chose the design by Anagh Coar pupils Morgan Burns, Georgia Walton and Beth Craig (all aged 11) as the winner, and they were rewarded with a stationery hamper for their school, plus the Crucial Crew Trophy and a framed print of the winning design. Representatives from several of the organisations supporting Crucial Crew visited Anagh Coar Primary School on July 19th to present the prizes.
Sergeant Wendy Barker, of Isle of Man Constabulary and Chair of Crucial Crew’s organising committee, thanked all of the organisations and schools that took part in this year’s event – and congratulated the winners on their brilliant design.
Anagh Coar Primary School Headteacher Rob Coole commented: “I am extremely proud of our Year 6 pupils for coming up with some brilliant ideas for our school’s entry into this competition. Morgan, Georgia and Beth did a wonderful job of bringing everyone’s ideas together in an imaginative final design and it is great that they have won this award for their efforts. Thanks also to everyone involved in Crucial Crew for educating our children annually about these important issues.”
Manx Telecom has supported Crucial Crew for many years and this year provided informative, interactive presentations showing children how they can stay safe while online, and encouraging them to use the internet and mobile phones safely and responsibly. All of the pupils who attended Crucial Crew received Manx Telecom goodie bags containing safety information, pens, and a Crucial Crew gift. The Isle of Man Constabulary presentation was an interactive group discussion focusing on being a good and honest citizen, helping each other, and discussing the consequences of anti-social or criminal behaviour. Manx Utilities, Manx Gas, and the School Nursing Service collaborated to present a pantomime starring Dame Dizzi-Aster delivering serious messages about the dangers around electricity and gas in the home. Bus Vannin’s presentation focused primarily on emergency evacuation of a bus, and general information about how to use buses, including details about Go cards. Children learned about first aid from St John Ambulance, and the Road Safety Unit sessions included learning about safe road craft and non-verbal communication, with a particular focus on equipping children with the skills they need to stay safe when travelling to and from school. The Coastguard focused on water safety and the dangers of ‘tombstoning’.
For more information about Crucial Crew go to www2.sch.im/groups/crucialcrew/.
Photo - Representatives of some of the organisations which supported this year’s Crucial Crew week are pictured presenting prizes to pupils at Anagh Coar Primary School. Pictured at the front holding the Crucial Crew banner are (left to right) Anagh Coar pupils Morgan Burns, Georgia Walton and Beth Craig (all aged 11) who created the winning design.
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