Students at Maple Elementary School were the recipients of a very special safety assembly on Monday, May 15.  Thanks to their efforts in collecting the most pop tops in a district wide contest, representatives from local protective services branches put on a spectacular show the students at Maple will remember for a very long time.

School Police Officer Dennis Barnett served as master of ceremonies as he kept the mood upbeat and the action moving along.  Students enjoyed presentations by City of Fontana Police Officers Delair and Velasquez and their K-9 partners, two Belgian Malinois from Holland, who have been trained for location and apprehension of subjects.  Maple Principal Michael Garcia volunteered to be apprehended by K9 Robby (don't worry, he was wearing lots of protective padding).  FUSD Police Officer Norma Bautista and K-9 Lassie, an enthusiastic golden Labrador retriever, also gave a demonstration of Lassie's ability to "sniff out" narcotics.  Lassie can locate explosives, too.

A firefighter from Fire Station 76 dressed out in his protective gear as a Fire Department spokesman explained the purpose of each layer.  He also told students that if they are ever trapped in a burning house and they see a firefighter coming toward them, even though they are very scared, don't hide and don't be afraid of the firefighter.  With the protective gear and mask on, it is difficult for the firefighter to speak and be understood.   The firefighters concluded their segment with a fire hose demonstration, shooting water high into the sky and cleaning one of the "dirty" police cars.

The safety assembly finished with a bang as the SWAT team demonstrated the apprehension of a subject.  First, a patrol car with lights flashing and siren blaring pulled over a suspicious vehicle.   The students squealed with delight as the SWAT team detonated a smoke bomb (at a safe distance) and apprehended the suspect.

Chief Bob Ratcliffe congratulated the students at Maple for collecting the most pop tops - 125 pounds! - in the district wide challenge.  Altogether, the schools in our district collected 1022 pounds of pop tops, which is nearly twice as much as was collected last year.  Jaslene Gutierrez and Ruben Vasquez-Valdez, the two Maple students who collected the most top pops each won a bicycle (one donated by Maple PTA and One donated by Bilingual Aide Maria Schneller and her husband).

Most importantly, Chief Bob wanted the students to know that the money raised through the pop top challenge was going to a worthy cause and that the children and their families at Ronald MacDonald House in Loma Linda will benefit from the students’ generosity.  "The students of Maple Elementary proved that it does not matter how many people you have working for a common goal," said Chief Bob.  "What really matters is the level of commitment each individual has to accomplish the unbelievable.  I could not be more proud of their accomplishments and the lessons that the students of our district have learned by such a simple, but meaningful task."

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