Important Information
HRRS/JDA
Lockdown this Afternoon
I wanted to let you know about an incident that happened immediately after carpool this afternoon. At approximately 3:15 pm, one of our staff was walking up the stairs in the school and noticed police activity on the far side of the church (at Delin Street). The police had guns drawn and were aimed up the street toward Lincoln High School. The staff member ran down to the office and we initiated a Code Red. All floors were checked for children and students were kept in the 2 extended care classrooms with at least one adult/staff member, while we were in lockdown. Students were safe at all times during the lockdown. Once we received an "all clear" from the police, we returned to normal status. Apparently, the police had 2 individuals at large in the area near the church and the gully. They were apprehended. We were locked down for approximately 20 mins.
I want to assure you that we practice our lockdown drills and reassess our procedures frequently. In fact, we just revisited this as a staff this week, after the recent mass shootings. Also, I talked with Father Wagner last week to assess ways to make the all school mass a safer experience on Fridays, with all of the children present.
If we go in to lockdown for more than a few minutes, we will send out an alert to families so that everyone will know, in case they come to pick up students. Please note that, if we are in full lockdown and a dangerous situation is present in the immediate area, we may not be able to immediately open doors for parents. In this case, please check the email for specific instructions.
I want to thank Ms. Lizbeth and Mr. Downing for their quick-thinking during this emergency and the commitment to student safety from all of our staff.
If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact me.
Katie Dempsey