Greetings, GreenMount Community,
You may have noticed that the flag is now back
at full staff after several days at half-staff in recognition of the tragedy at
Newtown. I decided to bring the flag
back to full staff on the day that the students from Sandy Hook returned to
school. They are ready to get back to
their lives, and so we recognize that fact by getting back to normal ourselves.
However, things
are never the same after an event such as this.
And, as I mentioned to you previously, we have been looking closely at
our crisis plan and giving it a good critique.
On Friday, we discussed our plan at length and came up with several
ideas that we will implement as soon as possible. Effective immediately, anyone
entering our building that we do not recognize will be questioned before we
buzz them in. In instances where Jen or
someone at the front desk is not sure about a visitor, I will be summoned to
personally check that person out. This
policy may have a direct influence on you or someone you may send to school to
pick up your child. I would also like to
know if there are cases when you feel that you have not been given sufficient
scrutiny.
At our meeting, we also discussed several ways
to secure doors and cover windows as well as ways to train our students to take
appropriate action in the event of an intruder.
I will not elaborate on all of these procedures at this time or in this
format as our newsletter is available to everyone. I will mention, however, that we can never be
completely secure. Fire codes and egress
routes do not allow for a complete lockdown, but we have come up with ways to
secure every classroom in our building.
Once the plan is complete, along with the purchase and installation of
necessary hardware needed, I will let you know.
We can discuss the specifics of our plan in person with you in a meeting
at school.
Did
you see on the news that passengers on a flight took action when a fellow
passenger became unruly and threatening?
They taped him to his seat and put a gag in his mouth. It is a good sign that people will never
again sit still and wait to see what happens when a threat occurs on an
airplane. Likewise, I encourage any of
you who are in the building to be proactive if you see an unfamiliar or
suspicious face by letting us know, or to even by questioning someone as to
their business in the school. We all
have a special interest in the safety of our children and we should never feel
embarrassed or timid about speaking up when a potential threat seems present.
Finally,
I would like to remind everyone that we have scheduled two meetings on
Thursday, January 10, to discuss any questions you may have concerning the
changes in our schedule for tuition payments.
The first will be at 8:00 a.m. in the gym, while the afternoon session
will begin at 3:15 in Ms. Tonette’s room.
Prepare and prevent, don't repair and repent. ~Author Unknown
Cheers,
Steve
