Celebrate School Safety Month all October long in your classroom by reinforcing safety tips to your elementary students. Create a safe and connected school environment by reinforcing fire drills, bus safety, and bullying prevention.

Practice Fire Drill Routines

The number one way to save your students' lives in a fire is to constantly go over the fire drill evacuation process. This procedure should become automatic for students.

Each week go over the procedure with students until they know it like the back of their hand. Here is an example of what your fire drill procedure should look like:

1. Prepare a planning evacuation sheet - On this sheet list all students' names, a map of the exit, and the names of the students who are in charge of closing doors, windows, and such.
2. When the fire bell rings, students who are in charge of something should do it, all others should head to the door.
3. Lead students to their destination quietly.
4. Take roll call and wait patiently until it is okay to go back inside.

Once students can go through the entire fire drill procedure without any hiccups, then you know you will be okay in case of an emergency. To make sure students really grasp the importance of fire drills, encourage them to create a home plan. As homework have students design a map (escape route) in case of a fire.

Emphasis the Importance of Bus Safety

Over 22 million American students take the bus to and from school everyday.

With this outstanding number comes tragedy. Although the bus is a very safe way to be transported to school, with this extremely large number of students taking the bus each day, their will be incidents. To help ensure their are no tragedies make sure to reinforce bus safety rules with your students.  Here are the top five rules to reiterate with your students.

1. Wait for the bus at least 12 feet away from the bus to ensure you will not get hit.
2. When on the bus remain seated with arms and legs in your seat.
3. Listen to all rules and directions from the bus driver and bus aid.
4. Exit the bus and use the handrail.
5. Wait for the bus drivers signal before crossing the street.

To ensure students understand the bus safety rules divide students into small groups and have them create choose one bus safety rule and put on a short skit to present to that rule to the class. Encourage students to be creative and use props.

Communicate Conflict Resolution and Bully PreventionTips

Part of School Safety Month is communicating bullying prevention strategies to students. It's important for students to understand how to resolve conflicts and learn how to react in a difficult situation. In order for students to feel safe in school, provide them with a few tips and activities that promote conflict resolution. This will help students be prepared for bullies, and learn how to handle them.

• Go around the classroom and ask students " What is one thing (material or non material) that you would put up a fight for and why?" Obviously for younger students you would have to change the wording. But, older students (4-6th grade) will generously answer this question without hesitation.
• Have students recount a time that they had to stand up for themselves. Then ask students what they would do differently in the same situation.