Two Ladysmith Secondary School Students were awarded second place in the 6th annual WorkSafe BC student safety video contest last week.Tyson Kimball and Victor Seymour’s video, entitled Why Endanger Your Life?, is a flash animation demonstrating the dangers of silica dust. Their hard work has earned them $500 to share and an additional $1,500 to improve their school.The animated video project took about three to four weeks to complete. Kimball used skills learned in an animation course to create the video while Seymour did the research involved.“It’s amazing how much time goes into research, production, post-production and all those things,” said Michael Guzmicky, a Worksafe Industry Specialist who presented the awards to the school May 25. “We really try to reward both the students and the school because without the support of teachers, the contest would not fly.”This year’s contest received 42 submissions from 19 schools with a total of 145 participating students. The theme— Overexposed! What you may not see can kill you — focused on the hidden deadly occupational exposures. Entries were divided into two categories by grade (8-10 and 10-12) and were judged based on impact, transferable safety message, technical execution and originality. Why Endanger Your Life? won in the Grade 8-10 category.The project was a great learning experience for both Kimball and Seymour, who want to pursue careers in the trades. Kimball, in Grade 10, wants to be a plumber while Victor, in Grade 12, plans to become a welder.“Usually, I’ll jackhammer something that will go through concrete to the foundation, and originally, I never wore anything for it, so I learned a little bit about silica,” Kimball said.Kimball said the video was originally a class assignment for Planning 10 that they submitted to the contest.“It was fun, but I think anyone could win it if they entered,” he said.Guy Tohana, who teaches film and television at LSS, said the contest is a great delivery method for getting the message out to young viewers.“The peer delivery of the material is more accepted, so students teaching about workplace safety through their videos is effective,” he said. “I think it’s important in alerting the students who participate to unseen dangers, and even students who don’t gain knowledge of staying safe by watching the video.”The $1,500, sponsored by Kiewit, will be used to purchase proper video equipment for the school’s AV department.“It’s sorely needed,” Tohana said. “Some of our expensive equipment is breaking down.”According to stats from WorkSafe BC, there were two young workers (ages 15-24) killed on the job in 2010, and another 1,478 serious injuries. The winning videos can be viewed at http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/YoungWorker/miscellaneous.asp?reportid=36366.

Ladysmith Chronicle