Fire Safety Day!

MFD1It’s true; we’re blessed with the BEST in MISD, especially when we visit with our fire fighters on campus during Fire Safety Day here at LME.  Wearing their finest MFD pink shirts today, gentlemen from Fire Station 3, shifts B and C, joined us all day for a most informative and fun event.  MFD2During each specials rotation, students participated in scenarios and questions, viewed important safety reminders from a DVD story, and explored the inner-workings of a fire engine with a guided tour.  Our five wonderful fire fighters shared important tips, reminders, and lots of fun with each group.  Thanks for giving your valuable time, teaching talents, and brave service to keep us all informed and safe!

EnJOY a nice long weekend with NO SCHOOL for students on Monday.  See you on Tuesday morning ready to learn!  🙂

Safety First!

Learners and classroom leaders alike deserve a safe, safetypiccaring learning environment; it is critical to personal excellence and success daily.  Likewise, good communication and collaboration build trust in our learning community.  As expected, throughout the year our school will be involved in ongoing crisis response drills and training.  We practice three important responses:

  • Evacuation:  Probably known to you and me as a fire drill, everyone is evacuated from the building to an on-site area or off-site area for direction.  We practice these drills monthly and work each time to safely increase our speed of exit.
  • Shelter-in-Place:  Similar to a “soft” lockdown, everyone comes inside (including anyone in our car lines).  We bring upstairs classrooms to downstairs classrooms to stay-put inside the building until danger has passed.
  • Lockdown:  Everyone locks into their areas; immediate hallway/bathroom areas are swept.  No one goes in or out of our building until directed by law enforcement.

All three drills are rehearsed and various scenarios presented at times to help students and staff members become stronger problem solvers in response to a crisis.  While we never do any procedure to purposely scare a child, practicing each response is critical to the overall success of facing a real emergency situation should the need arise.  Should you have questions or concerns, never hesitate to contact our school office or me for specific assistance.  As my friends reminded me today, “safety always comes first, Mrs. Van!”

Safety first…

Of course, our thoughts turn to Connecticut…to the victims, the grieving families, and an overwhelmed community in light of recent tragic events.  A letter from Dr. Stewart, MISD Superintendent, and a reminder note from Miller are coming home with your child today.  Please read both and don’t hesitate to contact our school office should you have additional questions or concerns.

My mind never shut down this past weekend.  We all know a safe, caring learning environment is critical to success everyday.  We make safety our first priority and follow procedures and specific measures to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep each person safe while on campus.  We have strong working relationships with and the support of our community first responders who spend countless hours training and preparing us.  We practice our safety drills (lockdown, shelter-in-place, and evacuation) and our crisis plan with our entire campus.  Our staff participates in table-top sessions and other safety exercises conducted by experts in the field.  Is it enough?  Are we ever fully prepared for every single scenario?

Please know this:  We will do everything we can to keep every person safe in our school.

Safety comes first.  We always appreciate everything you do to follow our protocols and assist in our learning environment when you visit us on campus.  Unfortunately, this tragedy (and so many others) reminds us all to be keenly aware of our surroundings and to report unusual people or situations to the proper authorities, regardless of the setting you find yourself in at the time.

Here’s hoping you can rest a little easier remembering we believe in safety first…

Safety First!

It’s October…that time of year we always welcome our local fire department to campus in order to talk about safety and strategies.  Check out some important tips at home for your family to know:   National Fire Prevention Week
Special thanks to the men who visited our campus today and to all those who serve in communities across the country; we salute and honor you!

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Shelter in place…we got this!

As I remind our learners, “plan your work; work your plan; autograph your work with personal excellence.”  Everyone did outstanding work today as we implemented Shelter-in-Place more than once.  For example, fifth grade learners were in the middle of lunch; they quietly moved from their tables to the stage area away from the glass wall (and this included parents too).  We cleared the back car line and parents with little ones joined us in the building without question.  Those coming in the front office stayed with us until clearance was given.  Learners and classroom leaders remained calm, collected, and even managed to get some engaging work completed at times.  Thanks to all for the planning, practice, and then real implementation…as one learner commented to me later, “We got this, Mrs. Van!”  🙂