9/13/08

Tornado Drill!

Yesterday we held our first tornado drill in this school year and all filed down into our basement, also known as Headstart.

It's my job to set off the alarm and then head to the basement, securing the door as I enter last (not sure how I feel about this 'last' bit!).

Well when I walked up the 3rd grade were filing in 2 by 2, we had them in 2 parallel lines walking down the covered walkway before heading down the stairs. This is the perfect route if the weather is bad, just one problem though. This walkway has childrens footprints painted onto the concrete all the way to the door.

So of course all the kids think it's a great game to walk on those footsteps and of course this not only causes chatter but a general slowing down. Now I hope if there really was a tornado threat the kids could tell and would be a little more focused. But as one teacher said, the last thing we need is panic with 2 flights of stairs and nearly 200 kids.

Anyway we all got down there in good time and everyone went to their allotted spots in the basement perfectly.

After a little talk from the Principal on the importance of them paying attention in this situation and not talking etc...I returned to my office.

The phone was ringing and the call was coming in from our kitchen. The following conversation ensued:

Head Cook "Sarah what's going on, we heard everyone heading out?"

Me "Well you just got blown away by a tornado actually!"

10 comments:

Mare said...

We once had a fire drill that actually turned out to be a suspected gas leak, and after about an hour of trying to keep the kiddies in check-the kids were sent home on the buses without ever going back in the building!

Bella Foxx said...

We had a fire alarm once that we found out when we came back in was a bomb thread (I was student) and when I got home asked my mom, and she hadn't heard anything.

Unknown said...

Good ness ladies, I hope we never have either of those to deal with!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I used to love tornado drills in school. But when I was really little, we had nuclear bomb drills!!! We were told to huddle down under our desks. Duck and cover drills, they were called. Of course, that wee little desk was sturdy enough to protect even the largest 6 year old from nuclear war!!
Boy, everyone was so stupid.

Linda Jennings said...

I arrived to pick up AJ one afternoon at our small town school to find all the elementary teachers and students in the front lawn and the middle and high school on the football field with police cars and fireturcks everywhere. I knew something was up and called my hubby/city council member who shortly called me back and said it was a bomb scare. After I inched my way into the lawn to pick him up, happy AJ jumped in the car and said they had a great time outside during an extra long fire drill. That was obviously a case where the students were better off not knowing the details. Turns out, of course, the bomb threat phone call was made by a high school student wanting to get out of class. I bet that kid never did that again!!!
Sarah you certainly have an interesting job!

Leslie: said...

I remember those days when we had to have fire drills and earthquake drills. (We don't get tornados here.) And how strict we teachers had to be to keep the kids quiet. Our rule was to be quiet even out on the field. *sigh* I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore!

Kay said...

Oh yes, I remember those days, too. All the kids had to sit with their heads down and hands covering their necks.

Snippety Gibbet said...

I always giggle at the long rows of tiny butt cracks showing during tornado drills. (It's a duck and cover kind of thing.)

Anonymous said...

LOL! That's funny! Me, I'd panic, but from what I have heard from my friend in Tennessee, people are pretty cool about tornado warnings.

I think she's supposed to take shelter behind the washing machine or something (it's in the central part of the ground level of her house) but she usually just stays in bed and hopes for the best!

Hopefully your children will be cool too, and not fall down the stairs in a heap!

Lisanne624 said...

We just had a fire alarm at the school where I work today, and I was rather disgusted. I rounded up everyone in my area and got them outside, but I overheard other people saying, "A kid pulled the alarm." I was under the impression we all had to leave until given the official "all clear", but I could see employees and students milling about inside the building, and incredibly, a FED EX man walked up and calmly entered the building as the alarm blared. Sets a good example for the students, no??