For the 13th year, the Coppell Police Department is sponsoring a self-defense class for senior girls at Coppell High School to learn the basics about protecting themselves.

The course takes place in the City of Coppell’s Life Safety Park near Old Town and will last six weeks, beginning on Jan. 18 and ending Feb. 22. There will be a session every Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and sign up is required in either Officer Diane Patterson or Officer Chris Cobb’s office.

The program is designed to give participants a sense of awareness, avoid dangerous situations, and build self-esteem and self-confidence.

“I just thought it is a really important class to take because Coppell is really sheltered and safe and I know that most of the other cities aren’t so I know we’ve heard a lot of things about college, like things that could go wrong, and I thought it would be a really cool way to learn how to defend myself and be safe,” senior registree Varshini Suresh said.

The program specifically for senior girls was started after many mothers took the Coppell Police Department Women’s Self Defense Class and were interested in a program for their daughters before college. The course is overseen by Officer Paul Gonzales, the CPD’s community services officer.

“It’s good for anybody to be prepared to defend themselves but here in Coppell we are overall a safe community but, once you go outside our city limits and hopefully you maintain a safe environment wherever you go but unfortunately there are people out there who are out to hurt people,” Patterson said.