Nomination from Emanuella – Osidge School
Schools in Barnet have been recognising the efforts of two road safety heroes.
As part of its Road Safety Week activities, Barnet Council’s Safe and Sustainable Travel Team invited schools to nominate a person who helps or inspires others to keep safe.
Two winners have been announced, including Mrs Marilyn Gerson from Shalom Noam Primary School.
Mrs Gerson, who stands outside the school each morning and afternoon, supports families with getting to and from school safely – ‘in all weathers and with a cheerful wave’.
She also makes efforts to ensure that school traffic has minimal impact on neighbours and that road safety is not compromised for them. This included the development of an efficient drop off/pick up system.
Mrs Gerson described how “happy and proud” she was to have received the award, adding: “All that we do and all we achieve is because of our working together with staff and most importantly, the children and parents.”
Mrs Gerson was nominated by Mrs Chaya Posen, the school’s headteacher.
She said: “Thanks to Mrs Gerson, the school community and our neighbours are all safe on a daily basis.”
Mrs Marilyn Gerson
The second winner is Anita Pontikakis.
Anita was nominated by her daughter, Emanuella Prodromou, a pupil at Osidge School, for teaching her all about road safety following an incident with a speeding car.
Emanuella said: “Mummy spoke to us about always checking even when we think it’s safe to cross because any vehicle can suddenly come into the road.”
Anita said she felt very touched to have been nominated by her youngest daughter, explaining: “As parents we always try to use real life experiences as examples to help shape their awareness about keeping safe when we cross roads, even when we think it is safe to do so.”
Both winners received a certificate and £50 voucher to spend on high viz accessories.
Established by Brake more than 20 years ago, Road Safety Week seeks to raise public awareness of road safety issues, and is intended to act as ‘the driver for positive change on UK roads’.
The theme for this year (15-21 Nov) was road safety heroes, celebrating those who make roads safer for everyone – from the emergency services, medical teams and support services that care for people after a crash, to designers and engineers who strive to create the safest vehicles and safe spaces for people to travel.
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