Good Morning Memorial Families,
The purpose of this update is to inform you about an upcoming safety drill that will take place as part of our district’s safety planning. Throughout the school year, our faculty and staff teach our children how to respond to many types of unexpected situations, so that in the event of a real emergency, we are better prepared to respond effectively. We have already held two successful fire evacuations drills; one of which was scheduled and one that occurred as a fun surprise to all of us one morning. In those drills, we exit the building calmly when we hear an alarm and remain outside in a gathering place, where we account for all who are present and wait to get the all clear before returning to the building.
This week, we will be practicing another emergency drill, called lockdown. At the elementary level, we put a lot of thought into how to carefully prepare children for this type of situation , while also maintaining calm in both our students and staff. Over the past month our faculty have undergone an annual refresher in training, and our resource officer, Officer Ciara O’Connor, visited each classroom to read a children’s book about lockdowns in child appropriate language and answered questions that children may have. This week we will practice what a lockdown looks like. Students and teachers will practice where to go and what to do. We anticipate this drill lasting about fifteen minutes start to finish.
I understand that just even thinking about practicing these types of protocols can bring on various emotions in our school community. Though we never like to think about real emergencies taking place, I am reassured that continued practice and preparation in coordination with the Upton police and fire departments are helping all of us be better prepared. We are fortunate to have so many safety precautions in place; locked doors, a very present resource officer, video camera monitoring around and inside the building, and quick responding police and fire departments. Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can offer support in preparation for this drill
Have a wonderful week!
Wendy
