Year 9 Restart a Heart Workshop
As part of our goal to help students get the life skills they need, the school organised first aid training for students in year 9 called, 'Restart a Heart'.
This article is written by Kanisa Jegatheeswaran in 9H.
Restart a Heart day turned out to be CPR lessons where we learnt the different stages of the process and how to perform them in the case of an emergency.
Hygiene was an important factor to consider as CPR involved blowing through the mannequin’s mouths. However, there were wipes provided so anything touched by the previous classes could be wiped clean. At the start of the activity we watched a video on how to carry out CPR. Not everyone was keen to try it, but after hearing how a girl saved her mum's life with CPR, many of us changed our minds. Whilst using the mannequins we learnt the process of calling for help, giving instructions, chest compression and rescue breathing. It was fascinating and initially fairly difficult, but after a few practices, almost all students could do it. The instructors were very kind and helped us when we struggled. Most struggled with the chest compressions as it was hard to push all the way down for a prolonged period of time.
At the end of the activity, we all got bands for our wrists which reminds us of how important CPR is and not be afraid to use it as it could save a life. We are so thankful for this opportunity and would like to thank all the teachers that were involved in organising such a great event because we all certainly learnt a lot from the session. We all know that we are so grateful because not everyone gets an opportunity like this and saving someone's life could make a huge difference.