(Press Release) — Last week the Public School System’s Swimming for All, Swimming for Life program wrapped up its 2021 summer swim camps. With 10 water safety instructors, and 20 teacher aides, the program was able to provide free American Red Cross Learn to Swim lessons to over 140 school age children.
The first set of lessons, Swim into Summer, was offered at the start of summer on June 14-25, 2021, at the Guma Sakman.
It was the program’s biggest event yet with a little less than 100 students in attendance throughout the two-week event.
Students learned essential water safety topics and swimming skills to help them become water smart and water competent.
In addition, on June 17, the program staff and participants were able to take part in the World’s Largest Swim Lesson, which is a national event created to spread awareness about how swimming lessons save lives.
The second set of lessons, Swim out of Summer, was offered on Aug. 2-6, 2021 to provide opportunities for children on the waiting list that were unable to attend the first swim camp. These sets of lessons were only for one week, with smaller class sizes that allowed instructors to provide more one-on-one time with each student.
“Thank you to all the children and parents that made time to come out and attend the lessons. Our program’s goal is to minimize drownings by educating the community about water safety and teaching kids how to swim. We plan on providing more opportunities throughout the school year at selected public schools that have teachers who are certified water safety instructors. For more information about our program please visit our website at www.swimcnmi.com
Special thanks to:
• Pete and Emma Perez from 500 Sails for letting PSS use the Guma Sakman and supporting the program in many ways. “We appreciate all that you do for the community to promote aquatics and our island’s traditional ocean activities.”
• Kimberly Lytle “for training and certifying our 20 Water Safety Instructors, and connecting us with the World’s Largest Swim Lesson event staff to allow Saipan to participate in the national event.”
Over 140 school-age children participated in the Public School System’s Swimming for All, Swimming for Life program.
