Hundreds of school safety patrollers celebrated

By BRENDAN MILLER on May 2, 2025.

bmiller@medicinehatnews.com

More than 500 Grade 5 and 6 students who volunteer their time to make sure the streets in front of their schools are safe to cross, were acknowledged by AMA as “Superheroes of the Crosswalk” and treated to a trip to Big Marble Go Centre’s swimming pool and pizza party.

Every day AMA school safety patrollers work in a variety of weather conditions to keep classmates safe at crosswalks around the city and are part of a long tradition of safety patrolling with large red stop signs.

“AMA School Safety Patrol has been on crosswalks in Alberta for over 85 years,” explains Allison Purcell, AMA school safety patrol co-ordinator. “During that 85-year history, there’ve been zero serious injuries or fatalities when a patrol is on the crosswalk.”

Purcell says those statistics represent the important job safety patrol officers have to ensure pedestrians and students are getting to and from school safely every day.

“When we see so many distracted drivers, when they’re paying attention to our patrollers, it really increases the safety of those crossings,” said Purcell.

Students from more than 15 local schools were joined by patrollers from Bow Island and Redcliff who traded in their reflective vests for swimming outfits and a morning of swimming, followed by a pizza lunch at Big Marble as a “reward” for their volunteer service.

The role also helps students develop leadership and communication skills through interactions with classmates and adults, as well as creating awareness about safe driving on the roads.

“It really is those skills and characteristics that these kids build that is phenomenal, and we end up creating leaders in the community,” says Purcell. “I often hear from different police officers that their first badge was a school patrol badge.”

The appreciation event was held in collaboration with Brain Injury Learning Services, Ever Active Schools, and AHS, with support from the Medicine Hat Police Service.

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