Safety Letter From Ms. Hurst

October 21, 2009

Dear Family and Friends of Roosevelt Elementary,

At 10:30 a.m., on Friday, October 16th, 2009, Roosevelt students, staff and parent volunteers participated in the Great CA Shake Out.

We conducted the drill over the P.A. system.  The school was given step-by-step instructions on the duck, cover, and hold portion of the drill, and the simulation lasted 60 seconds.  The all-clear signal was given, and every class was instructed to evacuate the buildings through the outdoor gates.  It took the entire school approximately 5 minutes to evacuate classrooms, assemble in the designated meeting spot (playground field), account for all students and staff, and prepare the Sweep Teams (Search and Rescue Teams) during our drill.  Sweep Teams then went through the entire school and checked for missing and injured students and staff.   Parent volunteers who were on campus were assigned to Sweep Teams to help search for those that were injured.   We had several 5^th grade students who volunteered to be injured for the drill.  When the Sweep Teams located the injured, our First Aid Teams were sent to rescue them and treat the injuries. 

It was an outstanding display of emergency preparedness by all members of our school community.   Thank you for praising your child for a job well done!

If this were a real emergency situation, and not a drill, specific stations would be set for such things as first aid, student assembly area, parent pick up, and communications.  Parents will gather on the basketball court and will enter through the gate on Lincoln, just south of Alta.  It is critical that you know your child’s safety is our number one priority.  The school will remain open until every last student is picked up safely from our campus.

Please be aware that your child will only be released to a parent or other individual that is listed on your child’s emergency card.  The school will NOT release your child to a friend or neighbor who is NOT designated on the emergency card.  Please be sure to update the emergency card so that you have those individuals you grant permission to sign out your child in case of an emergency.  If you need to make changes, you must do so in person at the front office.  We will not make changes via phone, email or hand-written note.

To date we only have 50% of student comfort kits.  A comfort kit provides your child just that – comfort in a time of crisis.  A note of love and a family picture are wonderful things that you can add to this very simple, yet powerful package. If you have not turned in your student’s EQ comfort kit, please drop it in the office.  The more prepared we are as a family, as a school, and as a community, we can prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes.

On an additional note of safety, please remember to sign in at the office while you on campus.  Our gates are closed at 8:40 a.m. and are re-opened at 2:45 p.m.  Sometimes it seems easier to go to the yard when the students are playing there and ask the students to push open the gate by the staff parking lot so you can deliver something more quickly to your student’s class.  This is a major breach in our safety  plan, so please do not ask students to open the gate. 

We have safety meetings monthly to address areas of concern for our students.  Our first safety meeting is this Friday, October 23^rd at 8 a.m. in the library. 

Have a happy and safe day,

Victoria Hurst

Assistant Principal