This afternoon at 1:45, Blanchard students participated in a fire drill. We had a little extra time outside and I spoke with the third grade students. One student new to the school and the country asked how many times we had fire drills. Another student asked why we practiced. Still another asked if we would have a lockdown drill and evacuation drill (Yes and Yes).
One student asked if he should do the same thing if there was a real fire.
"Of course," I answered confidently, "that's why we practice." And then the questions came in rapid fire (sorry about the pun) from many, many students.
"Well," another student raised his hand, "what if the fire was here in the back of the school. Should we still meet here?"
"What if the fire was in the back of the school where are classrooms are? Should we still meet here?
"What if the school exploded? Where should we go?"
"What if I'm in the bathroom and there aren't any adults around? What should I do? Should I find adults?"
"What if the fire was in the front of the school? Where will people go?"
"When do we go to the fire station? How will we know when to go?"
To be honest, I didn't know there were so many concerns about fire drills and their safety. We did talk about listening to the adults who would know when to go to the fire station and when to go to another area of the school. We spoke about how we keep track of every student in the school by class and by the specials schedule as well as checking the bathrooms. I let the third grade students know that we do not go back into the school until every child and staff member is accounted for and there is no threat of danger. I think I assuaged their concerns. However, it might be nice to speak with your children about the fire drill because they have such fertile imaginations and may need to discuss their safety concerns in more detail.
On a lighter note, I had a conversation with several fourth grade girls who were thrilled to use their new email accounts through Acton-Boxborough. Yesterday, one student had asked me if she could use the account to email anyone in the AB system and I assured her that she could and told her how to use the email. This morning, I looked in my email inbox to see a thank you note from her. When I thanked her, the other girls joined in about how they could use the account to email each other. One girl wanted to email her teacher, Mrs. Owen and the email would say, "I love you. You're amazing. You rock because you're the best teacher." However, she added, "I need to be careful because there is a boy with the same last name in this school and if I sent it to him that would be awkward." Yes, Megan, yes it would. (I have her permission to use her words.)
So, parents, please know that your fourth grade students have new digital powers and we all need to help them use them wisely or it could be awkward!
