SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A new program introduced to Yellowknife elementary schools last week aims to make students safer and more prepared in risky situations. Students from kindergarten to Grade 8 are taking part in the Risk Watch injury prevention program.

Risk Watch is a program taught throughout Canada and the United States, which aims to educate elementary school children about how to avoid various kinds of accidents that could lead to injury or death.

Safety educator Lenzena Zanidean, of Swift Current, Sask., gave Yellowknife teachers a crash course in the Risk Watch program, earlier this month.

The program was championed in Yellowknife by Fire Chief Albert Headrick, and deputy fire chief of life safety and prevention, Gerda Groothuizen.

Headrick, who worked with Zanidean on Risk Watch in Swift Current before coming North, together with Groothuizen, set about bringing the program to Yellowknife schools.

"We got together with the superintendents from both school boards and convinced them that it was a really good program," said Groothuizen.

Around four or five years ago, Groothuizen said there was a Risk Watch pilot program conducted in Yellowknife, but it was taught by the fire department, and was only available in one school to Grade 1 students.

Groothuizen said she is excited about the prospects of the program.

"What's so awesome is that when they start from kindergarten right through to Grade 8 - they're learning new habits," she said.

"To prevent one injury, to prevent one death by this program - I'm just so pumped about it."

According to SMARTRISK, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing injuries in Canada, unintentional injury is the number one health risk to Canadian children aged 14 and younger.

Zanidean said there were tangible improvements in the safety of children who took part in the course at her school.

"We actually tracked the success of the students over a five year period, and every year it made a significant difference from K to Grade 5," she said.

"It just gives them safety practices that they can use when they find themselves in a risk situation."

Claudia Parker, superintendent of the Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS), said YCS teachers will be given the flexibility to decide when to teach the program.

"They can take a look at their long range plans and they can decide whether they want to do it in a block period - which takes about 10 hours - or whether they want to spread it throughout the year," she said.

Parker said teachers will be more likely to teach certain parts of the program that relate to seasonal activities.

"They might take a look at water safety, and when is the best time of year to do that? Obviously you're not going to do that in the winter time," she said.

"I would say they will probably look at integrating it throughout, and looking at when it best meets the needs of the students, depending on the time of the year."

Peter Maguire, instructional co-ordinator for Yellowknife Education District No. 1, said the program will be "cross-curricular."

"The program actually has a lot of links across the curriculum ... There's also activities that can be used in a language arts class or a science class that address the safety issues as well," he said.

The success of the program will be measured via pre and post assessments, but Maguire said, "the real test of the program is the lowering of accident rates in our communities."