Safety Bulletin

"School should be a safe place for all students to learn and play and it is the job or each teacher, administrator and parent to ensure that safety."

• Do not prop open any interior or exterior door
• Do not open any exterior door for anyone! Let your teacher or administrator open the door.
• Be vigilant at all times and report all suspicious activity!
• Be Kind to Everyone!

• Badges must be worn at all times on Life School campuses
• Do not prop open any exterior door!!
• Remove objects near exterior doors that could be used to prop it open
• Intruder Audits are still taking place by Region 10 & TEA

• All visitors must enter through the front entrance and be checked in
• Communicate with School Administrators- Open, transparent dialogue between School Administrators, Parents, Guardians, and Students is essential to develop a community approach to safety concerns, response procedures, and best practices.

• Encourage Open Communication- Establish and encourage an environment where students can feel comfortable bringing their fears or concerns about school safety to school administrators.

• Get Involved- Talk with the principal about what you can do to increase school safety, such as organizing parents to form a neighborhood watch before and after school. Sometimes parent groups are highly successful in making improvements in traffic safety during drop off and pick up times.

We practice a variety of drills every year in accordance with state laws in all of our schools to ensure our staff and students are ready to respond. Some of these drills include:

• Evacuation - initiated automatically when smoke or fire is detected in a building
• Lockdown - initiated to isolate students and staff from certin immediate threats
• Secure - initiated to isolate students and staff from possible exterior threats
• Shelter - initiated whenever isolation of the interior environment is likley to be effective against an external enviormental hazard
• Hold - initiated to isolate students and staff from possible threats or medical emergencies on the campus

Click this link to take you to Safe Kid Games!

Talking to your child about school safety can be a hard topic to discuss. It's important, however, to have a plan and be prepared to act. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Invite your child to share their plans and how they practice for emergencies at school.
• Talk to your child about staying safe online
• Review your contact information with your child, and contact information for adults that you trust. Make sure they know who to call in case of emergency.
• Talk about all of the ways to keep your child safe, including at home. The Safe Kids Worldwide website is a great resource for you and your family.

Click the picture above to take you to the American Red Cross website for 10 Ways to Help Keep Trick or Treaters Safe this Halloween!

Dear Parent or Guardian:

Texas law now requires school districts to distribute information to parents and guardians about the safe storage of firearms. The below information will help you learn about options for, as well as how to talk to your child and others about, the safe storage of firearms.

In 2021, 4,613 Texans experienced gun-related deaths. The Texas Department of State Health Services (SHS) reports that 55% of Texas firearms deaths in 2020 were suicides and that 59% of all suicides in Texas were by firearms. Suicide attempts involving firearms have a 90% fatality rate. Restricting access to guns is critical in reducing acts of violence, whether as self-harm or towards others. Acts of mass violence and interpersonal violence often end in suicide.

It is unlawful to store, transport, or abandon an unsecured firearm in a place where children are likely to be and can obtain access to the firearm. Under Texas Penal Code 46.13, a person commits the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child if the child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm, and the person with criminal negligence:

· Failed to secure the firearm; or

· Left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access

The penalty for allowing a child access to a firearm can range from a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a $500 fine) to a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by a $4000 fine, a year in jail, or a combination of the two).

Texas exempts the purchase of firearm safety equipment from Texas Sales and Use Tax.

Remember, a gun should be stored unloaded in a safe or locked container, with ammunition stored elsewhere. You can learn more and find additional resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety at https://safegunstoragetexas.com.

Safe gun storage is critical to preventing suicide, unintentional shootings, and other tragedies.

Sincerely,

Life School’s Safety Team