Safe Schools Practice Drills on December 10th

December 6, 2021

Like every year, all schools in Ontario are required to review and practice “Secure School Responses” that include Lockdown, Hold and Secure and Shelter in Place. An important thing to remember this year throughout the review and drills of all of these procedures is that while every effort should be made to follow the guidance of Public Health as it relates to COVID-19, in the event of any real emergency or crisis that requires us to respond, this advice may not be possible, based on the response required.

First will be a Shelter in Place drill.  This is used when the school needs to be secured due to a potential environmental or weather-related hazard outside the school. It requires that we all remain in the building to stay safe (e.g. chemical spill near a school site, electrical outages, explosions or extreme weather conditions).  The second drill we will be doing is a “Hold and Secure”.  It is used when the school needs to be secured due to an ongoing situation outside and not related to the school itself. It requires that we all remain in the building to stay safe (e.g. bank robbery near a school).

Lastly, we will be doing a Lockdown drill.  The term “Lockdown” is used when there is an incident or threat of serious violence or injury within the school.  Standard procedures such as huddling in a corner or pulling students who are in the hallway into the nearest classroom will only be DISCUSSED AND EXPLAINED by teachers in order to comply with physical distancing, face-mask protocol and the promotion of proper hand hygiene guidelines.

Thank you,

Mr. B. Playfair

Principal

Buchanan Park School