Cornwall School News 12.11.25
Perhaps you heard about how I held a fire drill and made made the whole school go out without their jackets on a day so cold, we hadn't gone out for recess that morning. If your student told this story when they came home, perhaps you thought they were exaggerating. In fact, It's true.
At Cornwall School, we have gotten really good at following our emergency exit routine. We can do it at lightening speed with almost no talking. That is, when we follow our consistent routine, and when everyone knows ahead of time. An actual emergency will not be that. In the next several months, we will practice in non-routine ways. Because an actual emergency would not be carefully orchestrated, and our roughly 100 humans need to be able to get out quick and listen for directions were that to happen. In the snow or rain, during lunch or Spanish or transition time, or without our jackets.
Our practice drill took 2 minutes and 15 seconds, not including the 45 seconds or so it took us to walk back in the building. This is not nearly as fast as usual, nor were we as quiet. Because it was new and different. But by practicing in new and different ways, we'll get better at it.
In partnership,
Nadya
