ISD 166 students complete ATV safety training

The sixth-grade students at School District 166 weathered a drizzly morning on Monday, April 30 to complete their Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) all-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety certifications through field testing held on school grounds.
 
DNR Conservation Officers Thomas Wahlstrom and Mary Manning and U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Edward Belmore, assisted by volunteer instructors Chuck Silence and Kim Linnell, participated in the set-up and evaluation during the field day. They designed a driving course that challenged students to drive on varied terrain, practice tight turns, weave through closely spaced cones, reverse into a narrow parking spot, and use hand signals at various trail markers. 

ISD 166 Middle School Health & PE teacher Emma Spoon said, “It was great to see the students put their online learning to practical application.  Some were simply honing the skills they have developed through years of riding with their families; others were on the machines for the very first time.”

The inaugural year of the sixth-grade Safety and Technology course started with DNR snowmobile safety training and is wrapping up this month as students participate in classroom firearms training led by instructor and school staff member Ann Sullivan.  Students will have the opportunity to go out on a shooting range to practice safe handling and operation of firearms to complete their firearms safety certification later this month.   

All photos by Emma Spoon, ISD 166