Ten-year-old named School Safety Patroller of the Year.

A 10-year-old student is being honoured for keeping her fellow classmates safe.

Today, Urmish Shaikh from Vista Heights Public School will be recognized for her efforts with the CAA School Safety Patroller of the Year Award. The Grade 5 Mississauga student beat out 76 other applicants from across southern Ontario.

“On behalf of CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO), it is a privilege to honour Urmish Shaikh with the School Safety Patroller of the Year Award,” said Leslie Rocha, Community Relations Specialist, CAA SCO. “The deserving student takes her bus patroller responsibilities to heart. She is always on time and prepared to take on the new challenges of the day.”

Urmish is kind, yet firm when dealing with rule infractions on the bus. She always tells her fellow classmates when their actions are unsafe and reminds them of the rules when they forget.

“The Peel District School Board is pleased and proud to congratulate Urmish Shaikh, a Grade 5 student at Vista Heights Public School, on being named the recipient of the CAA School Safety Patroller of the Year Award. This award recognizes a school safety patroller that exhibits exceptional dedication, leadership and responsibility in carrying out the important duties of a safety patroller,” said Janet McDougald, Chair, Peel District School Board.

Earlier this year, Urmish put her safety skills into action when her bus was involved in a collision. The Grade 5 student kept the frightened children calm, worked with her fellow school safety patrollers to keep all the students on the bus and helped a staff member take attendance so calls could be made to parents.

Meanwhile, last fall, a bus breakdown and shortage of drivers meant one bus didn’t arrive at the school until after 6 pm. After the first stop, students offered to walk home and started to get off the bus to make their way into the night. Urmish spoke up and stopped the students from walking away on their own in the dark.

School safety patrollers dedicate over 3.45 million volunteer hours each year to community safety. There are currently over 55 police services, more than 800 schools and over 20,000 elementary school students involved in the program.