The Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive program is now being offered to Grade 3 students in Nova Scotia, with St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Sydney Mines the first to participate.
The program aims to provide elementary school children with in-water survival skills and is offered at no cost to the regional school board and other participating schools.
According to the Cape Breton Post, the program has been developed in response to the reduction of swim instruction for elementary school children during school hours.
“Swim to Survive instructs the children on how to survive in the water should they find themselves in a predicament where they can’t reach a wharf or the beach,” said Northside Community Pool aquatic director Colin MacArthur in the report. “This teaches them how to survive in the water for a period of time to get themselves to safety.”
