Mission Viejo Police Services Presents Safe Schools Challenge

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Orange County Sheriff's Department Undersheriff Don Barnes presented a challenge to area schools in an effort to engage kids in their own safety.

"Mission Viejo Police Services is calling on students to be stewards of safety, through fun and imaginative one-minute videos," he told us.

The Safe Schools Challenge is meant to be a creative, socially interactive competition designed to "empower students to create safer campuses," he said.

Classrooms are challenged to make a 1-minute video about campus safety that could include topics like:

• anti-bullying
• saying no to drugs, alcohol and smoking
• cyber or campus safety
• having good character
• mental-health awareness
• anything else related to creating a safer school environment.

Students are encouraged to tap their creative sides for the videos by coming up with scenarios and solutions for their topics, according to OCSD.

The Teachers and administrators at each school will select the winning group’s video. Using the hashtag #SafeSchoolsMV, the winning videos will then be posted to Mission Viejo Police Services’ Facebook and Instagram pages, and the victorious classrooms (or groups) will receive a pizza party with your deputies compliments of our local businesses.

The elementary, middle and high school video receiving the most likes on Police Services pages, combined with the school demonstrating the most student participation during the annual Walk Against Drugs, will each win up to $5,000. The money will be earmarked for school safety and security improvements.

Mission Viejo Police Services Photo