Every month we practice a fire drill. The children know how to quickly line up and walk safely with teachers to the front of the school. Periodically we also add a "duck, cover, and hold" earthquake drill. Today was an earthquake drill day.
Earthquake & Fire Drills
We started by showing the children a short video clip about being "Turtle Safe" during an earthquake. (Here is the link if you want to watch it and practice at home too.) Later we did the earthquake drill, then lined up and went outside like a fire drill, just as we would do after a real earthquake while the building gets inspected for possible damage.
These drills happen at various times of the morning each month so that everyone will know what to do if they are inside or playing outside during a real emergency. (We usually do drills in the morning so that our half-day children will be included.) Infants in Green Room are obviously not ready to "duck, cover, and hold" in the traditional way, but their teachers do have an age-appropriate plan in place.
Contact Information
Has your phone number, email address, or home address changed in the past year? Is there anyone you would like to add to or subtract from your child's emergency pick-up list? In the event of a natural disaster, realize that traffic and road obstructions may make it hard for you to get here quickly, so the more people you have listed, the better. Anytime your contact information changes, please let us know right away so we can keep current records. That way we can be sure to get in touch with you in case of an emergency.
School is prepared.
In addition to stocking emergency supplies and practicing our emergency drills, we subscribe to a system called SchoolReach that lets us call and text every parent's home, cell, and work phone numbers simultaneously if needed. We would use this system to keep you updated in case of a school-wide emergency or natural disaster. In any type of emergency, teachers would stay with your children until every child has been safely picked up by an authorized adult.
Are you ready?
We encourage every family to make and practice an emergency plan at home. Do you and your children know how to duck, cover, and hold at home? Do you know two ways to get out of your room and out of your house? Do you have a meeting place outside of your house (such as a neighbor's front lawn) in case you all have to evacuate quickly? Do you have supplies on hand in case you have to shelter in place for a few days? Do you have enough medications or supplies for anyone in your family who has special needs? We encourage you to talk about these plans and practice them periodically so everyone knows how to be safe in an emergency at home. Here is the video link again if you want to practice being "Turtle Safe" together.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to talk to Jennifer or your child's teachers. Thank you!
- Teacher Jennifer
