If you see police vehicles around Harrison Hot Springs Elementary on Friday (Nov. 1), don’t panic.
The elementary school will be holding a lockdown drill on Friday around 11:30 a.m. to give students and staff the opportunity to practice what happens during a lockdown situation.
According to a Facebook post from the school, the exterior doors will be locked for the duration of the drill. A sign reading “THIS IS A DRILL – THE SCHOOL IS IN LOCKDOWN. DO NOT ENTER” will be posted on the front doors.
“Like fire drills, this practice is needed to enable students and staff to react properly and be safe in a real-life situation,” the Facebook post reads. “Please explain to students that the lockdown is for safety reasons, it is not necessary to go into detail.”
It goes on to say the school will never hold a “surprise” lockdown drill.
The post also includes a list of the roles and responsibilities for parents during a real lockdown. These include:
- staying away from the school, so police and other first responders can get there easily;
- not calling students, so as not to inadvertently reveal their location;
- and not clogging cell phone lines.
In the event of a real lockdown, school staff would not be permitted to release students while the lockdown was ongoing and no one would be allowed in the school.
The designated parent primary staging area would be at Memorial Hall (290 Esplanade Ave.) and that is where parents and guardians could gather for information from police and school communications personnel.
If any parent has any questions about the lockdown drill scheduled for Friday, they can contact principal Tammy Nazarchuk at tammy.nazarchuk@sd78.bc.ca or stop by the school office.
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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