Playing it safe

With cheers from almost 300 people in the audience, the E.A. Butler All-Grade School team walloped their competition with a final score of 290 to 0.

The five students from McKay's were up against a team from Eric G. Lambert School of Grand Falls in a semi-final game of SAFE Work NL's Who Wants to Save a Life trivia competition, which took place at Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre on March 25.

"I honestly didn't think we were going to win," said E.A. Butler teammate Samantha Sas. "The other team gave us a good run for our money."

The local team pulled out into the lead during regular play, then secured their win in the final round with the following question:

A philosophy based on the principle that every individual in the workplace is responsible for health and safety is called?

The team was correct with their answer of "internal responsibility." Their competition guessed incorrectly and lost all their points.

Teacher Tara Lee Barry said the E.A. Butler team was selected based on top marks and they beefed up on their workplace health and safety knowledge leading up to game day.

For their efforts, each of the winning team members received a $100 gift card. That's in addition to two $50 gift cards they won in previous rounds of play.

The competition was developed to educate high school students about workplace health and safety by the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission in conjunction with the Department of Education.

"In the past five years, over 5,000 young workers between the ages of 15 to 24 have been injured on the job in Newfoundland and Labrador, and three young workers have died," said Leslie Galway, Commission CEO, in a release.

"By enhancing education and awareness, we are helping ensure young workers find a safer way to perform potentially harmful tasks on the job."

A second semi-final game will be played in St. John's on April 27 between schools from central and eastern regions. The winner of that game will face off against the E.A. Butler team in a final showdown on May 18 in Grand Falls-Windsor. Up for grabs is $15,000 in scholarships and prizes for the winning school.

editor@thegeorgian.ca