The recent Napa Valley earthquake is a good reminder to talk about
safety. Your child's safety is very important to us! Rest assured, we
have a full emergency plan and keep supplies stocked at all times here
at school.
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
