Drills

Dear Families,

The safety of your child(ren) in our schools as well as the safety of our school staff and visitors is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency procedures by having drills routinely, so they know what to do in the case of an emergency. The four main drills that we will be practicing are FIRE DRILLS, HOLD AND SECURE DRILLS, LOCKDOWN DRILLS AND EVACUATION AND RELOCATION DRILLS.

We hope this will help you better understand the type of drills we will be holding so you can help support your child(ren) if they have questions.

FIRE DRILLS

We will be doing at least six drills throughout the school year. We want each child to understand and be aware of the importance of this drill and not to be afraid when the fire alarm is sounded. By practicing, they will know what to do.

HOLD AND SECURE DRILLS

This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all children, staff and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep everyone safe from any danger outside or inside the building. For example, if a stray dog gets into the building. During hold and secure drills the entire perimeter of the building is secured and students remain in their classroom working as usual. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed.

LOCKDOWN DRILLS

This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all children, staff and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep everyone safe from any danger outside or inside the building. During a “lockdown drill” all of the perimeter doors to the school building will be locked and will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed. During this time learning ceases and lights are turned off until the all clear is given.

EVACUATION & RELOCATION DRILLS

During an “Evacuation Drill”, students will be safely escorted along a designated evacuation route to one of our predetermined evacuation sites. At the conclusion of the drill, all students will be escorted back to the school.

For the safety of everyone involved, and to maintain order, we respectfully ask that you would abide by the following during these drills and in the event of an emergency:

• Please do not come to the school

• Please do not call the school (as we will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)

• Please do not contact students or staff members via cell phone or social media (as we will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)

• Please avoid social media posts. Correct information will be disseminated through our automated system as soon as possible.

• Please make sure that your contact information is current at all times so that you can be reached without delay in the event of an emergency.

• In the event of an actual emergency evacuation, you will receive notification where to pick up your child as soon as is practical.

Please remember that these safety practice drills are done to help maintain our schools as a safe place to learn and work.

If you have any questions regarding any of these Safety Drills or other safety concerns, please feel free to contact Administration.

Sincerely,

Admin Team (Ron Muller & Marilyn MacLeod)