An unusual group of visitors watched Monday as students in Diane Skaley’s third-grade class at Coupeville Elementary School headed outside to compete against each other in a relay promoting safe and healthy choices.

While they went through the relay course, several onlookers from the Vietnam Ministry of Health were on hand taking notes.

They visitors stopped by the elementary school to get a first-hand look at educational programs that teach students how to make safe choices.

“We have to educate our children,” said Nguyen Thi Y Duyen, a project officer for UNICEF who is also based in Vietnam. She added that health officials there are dealing with a the usual variety of childhood accidents ranging from drownings to traffic accidents and poisonings.

She said Vietnamese health officials wanted to observe participatory activities that help children learn safe activities. The visit also gave the officials a chance to see how emergency services personnel teach safety to young students.

Nguyen was accompanied by officials from Vietnam’s Ministry of Health to witness the education activity.

During the relay, the students divided up into four teams and went through a series of practical activities that offered a brush-up on basic safety principles. The activities taught how to properly don a life jacket, how to put out a fire on a stove, how to safely cross a street and how to leave their room if their house catches fire.

“What we wanted to do is get a high energy environment where they can learn,” said Robert May, a paramedic who helped teach the students Monday.

“They enjoyed it.”

The teams were judged on how fast they could complete the five-station relay course and who could complete it with the fewest mistakes.

The Vietnamese officials were busy taking photos of the students during the relay. They also had an opportunity to tour the small town school.

Paul Zaveruha, Whidbey General Hospital Emergency Medical Services director, said the focus of the visit was on preventative education.

The Vietnamese first visited Whidbey Island about four years ago to learn about the area’s emergency medical services.

In addition to visiting Coupeville Elementary School, they also visited the Washington State Department of Health in Olympia, the Seattle Fire Department and the Injury Prevention Center at Harborview Medical Center.