{"id":15117,"date":"2026-04-29T11:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T15:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=15117"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T17:20:14","slug":"kempsville-meadows-fifth-grader-named-national-safety-patroller-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/kempsville-meadows-fifth-grader-named-national-safety-patroller-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Kempsville Meadows fifth grader named National Safety Patroller of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kempsville Meadows Elementary safety patrol captain Noah Mason was named the 2026 “National Patroller of the Year” by AAA. Before and after school, the fifth grader helps students in and out of vehicles and also oversees those who help students on and off the school buses. He recently made sure Joley and Trey Hinton left school safely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kempsville Meadows Elementary principal Christa Markert congratulated Noah Mason, the school’s safety patrol captain, on receiving top honors from AAA. She thanked him for his dedication to keeping students safe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the school day ended recently at Kempsville Meadows Elementary, an announcement was made on the loudspeaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cShout out to Noah Mason! Congratulations!\u201d<\/p>\n

The safety patrol captain was not only named the AAA \u201cRegional Patroller of the Year,\u201d but also the \u201cNational Patroller of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noah oversees about 20 fifth grade school safety patrollers who make sure students arrive and leave school safely each day, either in vehicles or on school buses.<\/p>\n

The school\u2019s fifth graders were summoned to the school cafeteria.<\/p>\n

AAA Tidewater spokesman Ryan Adcock explained that each AAA office in the U.S. submits a winner to the national office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of all the safety patrollers in the entire United States, they thought Noah was the best!\u201d he told Noah and his peers.<\/p>\n

Applause erupted.<\/p>\n

Principal Christa Markert offered congratulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are always making good choices,\u201d she told Noah. She thanked him for doing a wonderful job overseeing the safety patrollers.<\/p>\n

In addition, he raises and lowers the American flag in front of the school every day and has shown others the proper way to respectively handle and fold the flag, she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many things you\u2019ve done to make Kempsville Meadows a better place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Each month, Noah Mason and SRO Kris Sessoms select “Safety Patrollers of the Month” and post their photos on a hallway bulletin board. Noah recently was awarded both regional and national safety patrol awards from AAA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

School Resource Officer Kris Sessoms said Noah is a great leader. Each month they work together and choose \u201cSafety Patrollers of the Month\u201d and highlight the individuals on a hallway bulletin board.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe puts a lot of thought into that,\u201d Sessoms said.<\/p>\n

AAA Tidewater Virginia partners with elementary schools in Hampton Roads for the safety patrol program. They also provide \u201cSchool\u2019s open, drive carefully,\u201d signs if requested at the beginning of the school year and classroom presentations for all ages on driver education, pedestrian safety and more.<\/p>\n

School safety patrol advisor Cynthia Byrd encouraged Noah to fill out the application for the local AAA honor.<\/p>\n

In her recommendation on Noah\u2019s video submission, she included an instance when the school lost power just before dismissal.<\/p>\n

Noah worked closely with the school administration to guide students from their classrooms to their mode of transportation home, she said.<\/p>\n

She applauded his \u201cquiet leadership and clear communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noah\u2019s proud parents are Angelica and Afzal Chaudhry. They said their son \u2013 the fourth of five siblings \u2013 has a great attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when things aren\u2019t going the way we plan, he makes the best of every situation,\u201d his mother said.<\/p>\n

Noah said he is honored to receive the award. \u201cBeing on the safety patrol makes me feel proud and responsible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Safety patroller Bennett Merrell said Noah is an outstanding captain who deserves to be recognized. \u201cWe are all happy he won,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Donald E. Robertson Jr., superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools said Noah represents the very best of VBCPS \u2014 stepping up each day to look out for others and lead by example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether he is helping younger students on and off buses or making sure classmates safely get in and out of their family vehicles, Noah shows a level of responsibility, care and leadership that truly stands out,” Robertson said. “Earning the National Patroller of the Year honor from AAA is an incredible achievement, and we are proud of the positive impact he is making at Kempsville Meadows Elementary and across our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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AAA Tidewater Virginia’s “Regional Patroller of the Year” Noah Mason was also named the 2026 “National Patroller of the Year.” He was awarded a certificate for each honor during an assembly with his fellow Kempsville Meadows fifth graders. From left: assistant principal Alicia Broadwater, principal Christa Markert, Noah’s father Afzal Chaudhry, Noah, Noah’s mother Angelica Chaudhry, School Resource Officer Kris Sessoms and Ryan Adcock of AAA Tidewater Virginia.<\/p>\n

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Kempsville Meadows fifth graders listened as AAA Tidewater Virginia public relations specialist Ryan Adcock shared the news about their classmate Noah Mason being named both “Regional Patroller of the Year” and “National Patroller of the Year.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Noah Mason accepted certificates from Ryan Adcock with AAA Tidewater Virginia. The fifth grader was named the 2026 “Regional Patroller of the Year” and “National Patroller of the Year.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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As the school day ended recently at Kempsville Meadows Elementary, an announcement was made on the loudspeaker. \u201cShout out to Noah Mason! Congratulations!\u201d The safety patrol captain was not only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-connections","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15117"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15131,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15117\/revisions\/15131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}