Principal's Newsletter -- Safety Procedures Update

Principal's Newsletter -- Safety Procedures Update
Posted on 08/10/2017
Dr Harwood

Dear Nolan Families – As previously shared, we wanted to follow up with some additional information related to safety procedures for our parents and visitors while visiting Nolan.

Each year, our Nolan teachers and staff receive updated information on our school-wide safety procedures and protocols as related to fires, tornados, lockdowns, etc. Each staff member reviews and maintains a copy of our Safety Plan that is accessible at all times and all students and staff members participate in a variety of safety drills throughout the year to help everyone to become somewhat conditioned in the event of an actual emergency.

Although our students and staff have opportunities to practice our safety procedures, we realize that most of our parents and visitors do not have those same opportunities unless you just happen to be volunteering or visiting when a drill is taking place. As such, we wanted to share some basic procedural information in a way that does not compromise those procedures.

Fire – In the event of a fire, the fire alarm would sound which includes a loud buzzer and strobe lighting. At that point, our teachers and staff begin our fire procedures by leading their students outside by way of their respective egress exits. Egress maps are posted near the entry door of each classroom and at the beginning and end of each hallway. All preferred egress routes are marked on the maps by a red line and arrows. Any parents or visitors should follow the directions provided by our staff members and exit with the class they are with or go immediately to the closest outside exit if they are not with a class. While outside, our teachers take attendance and utilize our methods of communication to locate any children who may have been in other areas or with other teachers during the evacuation. Everyone remains outside until further directions are given and no students can be dismissed during any safety procedure until the threat or warning has passed.

Tornado – In the event of a tornado, an announcement would be made from the office or a continuous ringing of the school bell system will be initiated. At that point, our teachers and staff begin our tornado procedures by leading their students into the hallways and other designated areas of shelter followed by everyone assuming the safety position on their knees, head down facing the wall, with their hands covering their heads. Shelter maps are posted near the entry door of each classroom and at the beginning and end of each hallway. All preferred shelter areas are marked on the maps with color-coding to reflect which classrooms move to specific shelter areas. Any parents or visitors should follow the directions provided by our staff members and move with the class they are in to their designated shelter area or go immediately to the closest shelter area noted on the map if they are not with a class. While sheltering, our teachers take attendance and utilize our methods of communication to locate any children who may have been in other areas or with other teachers during the shelter notification. Everyone remains in shelter position until further directions are given and no students can be dismissed during any safety procedure until the threat or warning has passed.

Soft or Full Lockdown – In the event of a soft lockdown, an announcement would be made from the office sharing that a soft lockdown is in place with all students remaining inside the building until further notice. Depending on the circumstances, a soft lockdown may or may not include directions for all indoor activities and routines to continue or for all students and staff to remain in their classrooms with the doors locked. In the event of a full lockdown, an announcement would again be made from the office sharing that a full lockdown has been initiated which includes all staff and students remaining inside and moving to pre-identified safety areas within their classrooms or other areas of the building depending on their location at that time. Any parents or visitors should follow the directions provided by our staff members and move with the class they are with or go immediately to the nearest room and lock the door by removing the Lockdown magnets that cover each door’s strike plate. While sheltering, our teachers take attendance and utilize our methods of communication to locate any children who may have been in other areas or with other teachers during the lockdown notification. Everyone remains in lockdown position until further directions are given and no students can be dismissed during any safety procedure until the threat or warning has passed.

In closing, we want to remind everyone that the above information is not all-inclusive in the interest of security and that other procedures are in place for additional safety scenarios not listed. In the event of an actual emergency, we would do our best to communicate necessary information to our families in a timely manner via our School Messenger phone system. In addition, we do want to share that a controlled front entry doorwith a camera and intercom system has been in the works as part of our recent expansion project. Once the final installation steps are complete, we will send additional information home to our families regarding any procedural changes for this added measure of security.

As always, thank you for supporting our teachers and our school as we work together to provide a safe and purposeful learning environment for our students!


Shane Harwood

Principal

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