Goldfish Swim School to host safety day

In Florida, there is water — almost quite literally — all around us.

The Winter Park/Maitland area alone features numerous lakes, ponds and rivers. 

With that in mind, Winter Park’s Goldfish Swim School will celebrate National Water Safety and Drowning Awareness Month by hosting its first Water Safety Day.

“We have themes every month, and May, (because) it falls during the Water Safety and Drowning Awareness Month, is Water Safety Month in our facility,” said Gina Jacobs Thomas, who co-owns the school with her husband, Jon. “Our focus is to give kids the skills they need to just help them be safer in and around the water.”

From 2 to 4 p.m. May 19, visitors are welcome to come participate in the festivities, which include a number of different safety presentations from both Jacobs Thomas and local fire/police departments.

Throughout the presentations, Jacobs Thomas will detail basic water-safety tips including supervision; the importance of swim lessons; and how to choose a quality life-preserver.

As a part of Water Safety Day, the school will be giving out “water watcher” lanyards to parents who attend as a means of helping them keep their mind on their duty as supervisors.

“When you have it (the lanyard) on you, it brings a little bit more of an awareness to what you’re doing, what you should be doing and where your focus should be,” Jacobs Thomas said. “Drowning can happen in a matter of seconds, so we really want to keep our eyes on the water at all times.”

Other tips such as enrolling your kids — or yourself — is pretty self-explanatory but still vitally important.

Teaching kids at an early age about how to safely swim and get out of water can save a life, and it also helps get them comfortable around any type of body of water, Jacobs Thomas said.

There also will be some fun planned for kids in the form of a free swim, along with free snacks, games and even a visit from Bubbles — the school’s mascot. For the free swim, Jacobs Thomas said parents should call and make a reservation.

“Our responsibility is to make sure they have what they (parents) need,” Jacobs Thomas said. “Here in Florida, it is just so important to know how to swim — it’s almost a non-negotiable life saving skill. We really believe that every child should have the opportunity to know some basic life-saving skills in the water.”