Weather Update -- when do we have indoor recess?
With this week's frigid temperatures, we thought you might be interested to view again our district policy on temperatures and indoor/outdoor recess.
- Temperature and wind chill at/or above zero degrees: Outside
- Temperature above zero, but wind chill below zero: Inside
- Temperature and wind chill below zero: Inside
To see the complete document of district weather related outdoor activity protocols. Please click HERE. We'll also take this opportunity to remind you to label your student's outerwear (gloves, hats, mittens, snow pants, jackets, boots) with their name so that we can return lost items directly to them when found.
We held a SECURE Drill this week!
Each month, our students and staff practice a safety drill. These drills include evacuation (fire) drills, shelter (tornado) drills, secure (lockout) drills, lockdown drills and hold drills. At CEPS, students learn that one way we stay safe at school is by practicing these safety drills. They learn that although emergencies are very rare, it is important to take them seriously so that we know what to do just in case one were to occur.
On Thursday, our CEPS students participated in a Secure drill. A Secure is needed when there is an unsafe person or situation in the community or outside of the school, but not actively occurring inside the school. During a Secure, the exterior doors of the building are locked and no one may enter or leave the building. Students and teachers remain in their classrooms and continue with the scheduled teaching and learning activities. The classroom doors stay locked, blinds are drawn, and during the drill, no one is permitted to enter or exit the room.
The drill this Thursday occurred (purposely) while our Kindergarten friends were outside at recess to give us some experience around incidents that may happen at an unexpected time. They ROCKED it! All Kindergarteners were back inside the building within 3 minutes of the drill announcement and back in their classrooms within 5 minutes. That is even better than we would expect for 5 and 6 year olds. We are so proud of the recess staff and our Kindergarten friends!
Each month, we will continue to practice one of our safety drills. Due to the young age of students, our Lockdown and Secure drills are low-key and conducted in a matter-of-fact manner, similar to our evacuation (fire) and shelter (tornado) drills. For additional information about our safety procedures, please feel free to visit the Standard Response Protocol website: https://iloveuguys.org/The-Standard-Response-Protocol.html
Save The Date
The community is invited to join the McFarland Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Coordinator (DEIB), Brittany Brazzel, for a learning session about the District’s Speak Up tool and commitments to addressing and interrupting harmful language and hate speech. Come learn what we are doing as a district and how you can contribute. Students in grades 5-12 are welcome to join.
January 24, 2024
6:30 - 7:30 pm
High School PAC
