Today at 10:00am, we practiced a safety drill and went to our meeting place on May Street. The children sat in their work groups with their teachers and responded, “here” when they heard their name called as designated teachers checked all bathrooms and small areas, grabbed your sign-in sheet from this morning, the yellow contact cards, and emergency backpacks. Business as usual for an evacuation safety drill but today was special to us. The teachers, in solidarity with teachers and children from across our nation, held the 17 in our hearts. The 17 who were killed in Florida by a fellow student shooting. Roleen called us together and all the teachers held hands while we all sent wishes of wellness and peace. We reflected back inside with the children:
Caitlin: We were practicing emergencies.
Crosby: Yah, a safety drill!
We assured them, and ourselves, that we are safe in a community that knows how to support each other.