Safety Education Starts Young at Morse School

Sleepy Hollow police officer Wendy Yancey recently visited with second graders to kick off a new safety education program between police and Morse School.

As part of a program Yancey and second grade teacher Clare Carr developed, on a Friday morning Yancey started going from class to class reading a book to the children and providing an introduction to "what is the role of a police officer?"  

The intro session of about twenty minutes per class will be followed up with more in depth class visits during the next couple of months, where they will discuss topics such as bicycle safety, bullying, building self esteem, conflict resolution, pedestrian safety and stranger danger to name a few.

Within the next few months, the Sleepy Hollow police officers will also be visiting the first grade students, and introducing the "Officer Phil Program," a program designed for young children.

With the Officer Phil Program, Children learn these valuable lessons in a fun, entertaining and informative 30-minute live assembly in their schools.  During the live presentation the performers from the Officer Phil Program use magic, games and ventriloquism with a character to engage the children and keep their attention while they learn.  

To reinforce what the children learned in the live presentation each child is given a grade specific activity book and other interactive materials to take home to work on with their parents or guardians and teachers throughout the year.

"Our goal is to provide safety education through positive police presence in Morse elementary school and to connect our local police department with our Morse community, so that our first and second graders see our police officers as community helpers and encourage a trusting, long-lasting relationship," Carr said.

"The Sleepy Hollow Police Department in partnership with WL Morse School is dedicated to promoting school and community safety, health, education, cultural awareness, good character, and leadership skills," Yancey said. "It is our mission to help young people improve their lives by building self esteem, and developing good values while fostering and building positive relationships with our local police officers. We look forward to building a long lasting relationship with the students of Morse School.”

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