Dear parents,
We will be having a Full Lockdown Drill on Monday April 23rd at 10:00 a.m. Each school in the TDSB is to take the school through this drill twice per year. Apart from Fire Drill Evacuation Drills, (6 per year) we need to prepare for other levels of threat to safety, even though these are very unlikely. Although, of course, it is impossible to prepare for every contingency, and a true emergency situation brings its own ad hoc situations to respond to, if students are well trained in these procedures, we will be well prepared in the very unlikely event that an emergency occurs.
- A Full Lockdown – Internal is used in a serious emergency situation where the danger is in the school. Procedures minimize access and visibility, and shelter students, staff and visitors. The doors are locked, lights are off, blinds are down and ALL cell phones turned off.
- A Full Lockdown – External is used in a serious emergency situation where the danger is immediately outside the school. The procedures in the school are similar in terms of doors, windows, lights, phones and sheltering of students, staff and visitors
- A Partial Lockdown is used when a serious incident occurs in the community that poses no immediate danger to students or staff unleass they leave the building. In this case, normal school activities continue, with the precautions of lights off and blinds closed to prevent visibility from outside.
- An Environmental Lockdown, like the one we had in the fall when there was a gas leak on Castlefield, is similar to a partial lockdown, and is often referred to as a “Shelter in Place”.
In all these cases, Police and Emergency Personnel are involved, and any communication that takes place comes through them. Parents and caregivers are not able to have access to the school during a Lockdown. Please be advised that, accordingly, on Monday April 23rd, there will be no access to the school from outside between 10:00 and 10:40.
Teachers have been asked to prepare students for the Full Lockdown Drill that will take place on the 16th and to reassure them that it is only a practice, just like a Fire Drill. We do not use any coded language, but the announcement over the PA will be “This is an Emergency. The School is now in Lockdown mode.”: which will trigger the procedures rehearsed with the staff. A reminder note will be sent home on Thursday April 19th.
Jennie Ucar
Principal