Nine schools and more than 100 Grade 3 students in Kapuskasing, Ont., are participating in the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive program, which aims to provide elementary school children with in-water survival skills.
The training sessions are being offered at the town’s Donat Brousseau aquatic centre, with the program’s grants covering the costs of transportation, instructor fees, and facility rental for each lesson.
According to a report in the Kapuskasing Times, the lessons are based on three specific skills: roll into deep water, tread water for one minute, and swim 50 m.
“Some students come here with basic knowledge or have been in swimming lessons before, so it’s easier for some of them,” said the aquatic centre’s supervisor, Nadia Brassard, in the report. “(The Swim to Survive program teaches them) how to stay calm and comfortable so they can bring themselves back to safety.”
During the 2012-13 school year, more than 86,000 Grade 3 students in Ontario will participate in the program. Since 2005, the Lifesaving Society, with the support of the Ontario Ministry of Education, has approved more than $10 million Swim to Survive grants, reaching more than 500,000 Grade 3 students.
For more information on the school grant program, visit http://www.lifesavingsociety.com/swim-to-survive.aspx.
