Bell Students Tackle First Aid

Inspired by the frequency of incidences where basic first aid skills could prevent further harm and even save a life, four passionate Bell High School students, Nada Jama, Christine Wen, Jocelyn Xu, and Sherry You developed a community awareness project about first aid for HOSA, a health science club and conference. Since first aid is not part of our current school curriculum, the group set out to educate elementary and intermediate students by presenting to local classrooms. Their lessons were crafted to be age-appropriate and engaging, with kindergarteners learning about injury prevention through stories and colouring sheets, while older students acted out skits and participated in trivia quizzes. The team’s goal was to create a ripple effect by teaching youth, who will hopefully spread what they’ve learned to friends and family.

Sherry, Nada, Christine, and Jocelyn also engaged with high schoolers by conducting a survey on first aid and passing out memorable stickers while talking directly to students. They found that 70% of students surveyed have experienced a severe injury or emergency situation, demonstrating the huge need for first aid training in schools. The team then wrote a letter to Mr. Collins, our school principal, with the goal of connecting our administration to the project and potentially implementing first aid into the current curriculum.

The group recently returned from the HOSA conference, hosted in Toronto, where they presented their project to judges. Their dedication and creativity certainly paid off, with the team receiving 5th place overall in their category! The Bell Roar would like to extend a thank you to Christine, Nada, Jocelyn, and Sherry, for bringing the much-needed topic of first aid to students’ and administration’s attention. And a big congratulations on your success within the competition!