BY ABBY WICHTERMAN

Lunches were disrupted with an unexpected ALICE drill on May 17. Students were unaware that the drill would be taking place until Mr. Moore gave a brief warning a few minutes prior. The drill was started when the ‘shooter,’ who was portrayed by Officer Innocenti, blew an airhorn. After this, Students were encouraged to run away from the ‘shooter.’

A group of students who call themselves the Student Safety Task Force decided that sitting in classrooms and going over scenarios was not preparing students enough for a real intruder.

“We need to know what to do in those kind of situations, but I do not think anybody is well prepared for that kind of situation,” said Aly Brugh, 10, on the subject of ALICE training.

The task force thought that an unannounced drill like this would better prepare students in the event of an intruder. Some students found that it was more harmful than helpful.

“I was a little confused and I did not know what was going on. It was kind of random and out of the blue,” said Carley Mayes, 9.

So that the lunchrooms would not be complete chaos, it was decided that the scenario would only be announced minutes before it took place. To prepare students for the unexpected training, Mr. Moore got in front of the students and told them what will happen in order for the drill to work. The drill then took place a few moments later. Some students believe that it would be more beneficial for the drill to have been a complete surprise.

“I feel like we would have been able to see people’s real reactions,” said Brendan Phillips, 10.

Other people thought the drill was better with there being a warning to begin with.

“I think I would have been more shocked, but it would have caused more chaos,” Brugh stated.

In the end Mr. Moore was pleased with the outcome of the drill.

“We wanted to practice that to see how we would react, and it was not bad,” Mr. Moore commented after the drill took place.

Moore left students with this friendly reminder before he sent them on their way: “Good job, safety first, and have a good day!”

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RxxTPeyWBE]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhNn2aKJ4JU]

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