On the afternoon of Thursday the 10th of October the school had its termly fire drill (we actually do 2 in Term 1). The school was evacuated to the upper playground as normal. We were very quick to leave the building and I am pleased to report that the school was empty after just 2 minutes and 30 seconds. By 6mins 30 seconds all children, staff and visitors had been accounted for and the ‘all clear’ was given. I have told the children that I think we can do it under 6 minutes so that is our target for the next fire drill.
Whilst we were pleased with the result we were disappointed that some children opted to talk whilst moving from their class to the upper playground. I have made it very clear to them that this is not acceptable and I would appreciate you reinforcing this with your child/ren at home.
A quick question for you all – when was the last time you practiced a fire drill as a family at home? Does/do your child/ren know where to go in case of a fire? Where is the assembly point for your family should you get separated whilst leaving the apartment?
On the 29th of October we will be having a lockdown practice as well. A lockdown, for our new parents, is where the children are required to effectively ‘hide’ in the classroom whilst the teacher locks the door. The children must remain out of sight and stay very quiet until the ‘all clear’ is given. In the past within 30 seconds of announcing the ‘code red’ the school appears empty, as the children and staff are so good at hiding away in their classrooms, so we will be looking for a repeat of this on the 29th of October.
I share the date with you in case your child or children come home and ask why there is a lockdown or are a little worried about it. It just gives you an opportunity to talk to them about it before and after the actual event. This time round I will be warning the children about the lockdown in terms of what day it will be done but not what time. I will be telling them that we do a lockdown as sometimes schools have to deal with dogs that have entered the building or perhaps a rather annoyed and angry squirrel wants to know who stole his stash of nuts!