Several Pine Meadow Elementary Students Transported To Hospital Following Assembly

May 16, 2019

Several Pine Meadow Elementary School students were transported to the hospital due to heat illness Thursday morning.

Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said an assembly was being held, and fourth grade students were wearing costumes for a living wax museum history program. He said the air conditioning was working properly but the costumes caused them to overheat.

“Some of the costumes created a situation where the students got too hot; think of a sports mascot at a ballgame in enclosed costume,” Thomas said. “The big factor here was the costumes. The A/C was functioning properly.”

First responders were called, and six students were transported  to Sacred Heart Hospital, according to an Escambia County spokesperson.

None of the students were critical and were transported with parental permission as precaution, Thomas said. “They are all going to be OK, and that’s what is important.”

Photo courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com.

Comments

7 Responses to “Several Pine Meadow Elementary Students Transported To Hospital Following Assembly”

  1. Sandy on May 17th, 2019 11:58 am

    No, the administrator should not pay. If you read the complete article it states that students were transported with parental permission. That means the parents would pay for it. My grandson participated in this when he was in the 4th grade. As a former educator, it is an unique and creative way for students to learn and retain the information. Kudos to Pine Meadow.

  2. Mom on May 17th, 2019 10:09 am

    As a mom to a student who has participated in this I love this program. The students work so hard to learn about their character, to create their display board with all they’ve learned, to piece together a costume so they look the part, and then to share it with their family and classmates. This entire situation was fully blown out of proportion by several media sites and negative comments by those not even there. I was there and it was handled 100% appropriately. These are the most caring teachers and administrators and I fully trust my children in their care every day. The Wax Museum has been happening for 5 years and it saddens me that the only time a report was done for it was this situation. Why hasn’t the media cared about the event before this and shared something positive? Thank you to this wonderful school in caring for my children and teaching them and keeping their best interest at heart!

  3. Bewildered on May 17th, 2019 8:45 am

    I am glad I am old. The father who talked to channel 3 was distraught because his kid had a loose baby tooth and the school did not drop everything and contact him right away regarding this “ emergency “ ! Lord have mercy on this younger generation.

  4. 4th Grade Mom on May 17th, 2019 1:14 am

    As a parent of one of the 4th grader participants, I can assure you the kids look forward to this event from the time they start at Pine Meadow until 4th grade. The kids work so hard researching their subject, making a speech, and decorating a tri-fold to proudly display for parents and other visitors. They were all so excited to do this project. It is the big 4th grade finale for them.
    Pine Meadow admin and teachers go above and beyond to make sure the kids are happy and to make sure they have many special events at the school.
    This is an unfortunate event that got spun way out of control by the media. Do not believe everything you see or hear on TV. I was at the event and I can assure you the kids were all smiles and so excited to share their characters!
    It is very difficult to sit here and watch such a wonderful get dragged for misinformation by people who weren’t there and want to believe negativity.
    This event has happened for 5 years at Pine Meadow and was never covered by the news before. Apparently, the fact that children are learning and presenting in unique ways doesn’t warrant interesting headlines. I’m so sad that all their hard work was overshadowed.
    Thank you, Pine Meadow, for giving my daughter wonderful elementary school memories and for being her home away from home.
    Proud to be a Panther!!!
    -A 4th Grade Mom

  5. Parent on May 16th, 2019 11:34 pm

    As a parent that has had 2 children who have attended this event it is wonderful and the kids absolutely love participating! @economist – no the admin should NOT pay for this because as a parent I would hope they would be in attendance to support their child. After all it isn’t admins job to raise my child?! I would recognize if my child was distress, too hot or about to pass out. This school has the best of the best teschers, admin and principal! Kudos to Mrs. Finna for the prompt response and Northescambia for posting accurate info, others should follow suit. Don’t believe all the media. Do you hear about people passing out at church, concerts, football games, etc when it is hot? Get a grip and focus on what is important… these kids enjoy this event and benefit from it and that is what is important. Parents start being parents and attend events and pay attention to your kids. Thank you Pine Meadow teachers for continuing to put on this event it is always lots of fun!

  6. economist on May 16th, 2019 8:21 pm

    the hospital billing should be paid by the administrator who called on the assembly…and should not be paid by the tax-payer…

  7. sam on May 16th, 2019 2:35 pm

    appears common sense was lacking. the kids had to be complaining before this event went down.