This summer, two former Ridleians found themselves at the forefront of life or death situations and thanks to their physical education at Ridley, they knew exactly what to do.
Ridley’s physical education programme aims to contribute to the healthy development of our students physical, mental and social well-being. A part of that means discovering how students can contribute to the well-being of peers and their community. Among their lessons, students are taught how to appropriately respond during an emergency situation, to better prepare them if someone is in need.
Upon entering Upper School, our students are taught basic life-saving skills during their physical education classes. By Grade 11, students are certified in Basic Level CPR, Standard/Emergency First Aid and are taught how to operate AED (defibrillator) units. The students have the chance to further enhance their training if they choose to pursue their National Life Saving (NLS) certification as a co-curricular activity.
“From our point of view, these are life skills that everyone should learn. You never know when you are going to find yourself in a position to help someone in need.” – Jay Tredway, Director of Athletics
Retired physical education teacher, Mr. Dave Whitty, said that during his career, the students were keen to learn the skills needed to appropriately respond in an emergency situation. He also recalls numerous occasions where students and staff members – himself included – were required to take action in order to save another’s life.
Recently, two former Ridleians were put into harrowing situations where their CPR training, confidence and quick reactions saved lives.
On July 20th, 2016, 19-year-old Jarrod Camroux-Peacock ‘15 and his father Erik Peacock came to the aid of a customer and family friend, who began choking while dining. Acting quickly, Erik and Jarrod both performed the Heimlich maneuver and tried to clear the obstruction, as the man began to lose consciousness and turn blue from oxygen deprivation. Jarrod and his father were able to dislodge the obstruction from his airway prior to the ambulance arriving on site.
Soon after the incident Jarrod made a phone call to his high school teacher and basketball coach at Ridley; expressing his gratitude to him for having taught him how to react in emergency situations and for providing proper emergency response training.
Another former Ridley student, Nick Prestia ’16, has used his CPR training twice since attending Ridley. The first incident occurred in 2015, when Nick was attending a hockey training camp in Boston. A two-year-old girl was left unattended at the hotel swimming pool and had fallen into the water. Nick saw the young girl and pulled her out of the water. When he realized she wasn’t breathing, he began to perform CPR that had been modified for an infant – another skill he had learned during his physical education at Ridley. Nick managed to revive the two-year-old and alert her parents.
The second incident occurred last month on July 26th, 2016, when Nick’s hockey instructor was concussed during drill training and began experiencing seizures. The instructor wasn’t breathing, so Nick began performing CPR until someone nearby – who was also trained in CPR – came to relieve Nick. By this time, the concussed instructor had begun to breathe again. Nick too reached out to Ridley to express his gratitude for his training.
“Always remember to trust in your abilities because you never know when your actions can affect someone’s life. I’m blessed to have been able to use my knowledge of CPR to help to people and I encourage others to go out of their way to learn CPR. You never know when you might need to use it, take my word for it.” – Nick Prestia ‘16
In all three incidents, these former Ridleians sprang into action without hesitation. Congratulations to Jarrod and Nick. Ridley is proud to have had the privilege to guide these students, and many others.