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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Grade 4/5/6 classroom at K'alemi Dene School in Ndilo was buzzing with excitement at the end of September as the students rushed to complete their city-wide fire safety contest entry for Fire Prevention Week.

Nick Beaulieu, left, Jackson Caisse, Stefon Franki and Ethan Black hold up their crafty fire truck with triumph on Sept. 27. The K'alemi Dene School students are competing in a fire safety contest for Fire Prevention Week. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

The class won first place last year for constructing a miniature model of a house - complete with fire hazards - accompanied by a poster board of fire safety tips. This year, the 17 students were prepared to "go big or go home," according to teacher Jeanette Goldney.

"The kids really learned a lot from that (project) on fire safety. It took us probably a month. For the kids, it's project-based learning. Learning how to build, learning language arts, learning about fire safety - it incorporated a lot of different things," said Goldney.

Five-centimetre-tall evergreen tree branches planted with plasticine on a cardboard diorama floor, colourful pipe-cleaner people and walls, hallways and rooms sturdily form mini models of a community, a house, a hotel and even K'alemi Dene School itself.

"They're quite a creative class. They really like to build things," said Goldney.

Darian Erasmus has been working with her classmates for about four weeks on the overall class projects, which illustrate fire hazards in different environments and, like last year, are accompanied by a poster board explaining the safety tips one should follow to avoid any harmful fire-related situations. Erasmus is also working with her partner on a house with fire hazards.

"There's a Christmas tree beside a stove, and there are two babies playing with fire while their mother is in the shower and everyone else is watching TV," she said.

The students have already experienced one fire drill this year. Safety tips through class rules, as well as through the more imaginative projects, allow them to easily name off rules they have committed to memory.

"You should never go back into a burning building," said Erasmus.

"Keep the exits clear," quipped Aurora Fraser. "When you have a real fire, you always remember what to do."

There are four categories in the second annual Fire Safety Fair, which will be held during Fire Prevention Week: class projects, group projects, family projects and individual projects.

Winners of the contest will be awarded trophies, medals and other prizes, according to the City of Yellowknife website.

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