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Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Off-Canvas

Emergency Evacuation Drills

Fire and evacuation drills will be conducted regularly during the school year. A sign indicating the exit to be used in the event of fire will be displayed at the front of each classroom. When the fire alarm rings, all activities stop and you quietly await the teacher’s instructions to:

  1. Close all windows
  2. Rise and form in double file to leave the room.
  3. Walk rapidly and quietly out through the proper exit.
    IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT SILENCE BE KEPT DURING THESE DRILLS OR EVACUATIONS AND THAT STUDENTS FOLLOW THEIR TEACHER’S DIRECTIONS AT ALL TIMES.
  4. Keep in section formation and remain quiet throughout the drill.
  5. Return to the building as directed.

Severe Weather or Tornado Alert

At the announcement of an alert:

  1. Pupils are to follow the teachers’ directions. Pupils are to remain quiet in their seats while the teacher reviews the tornado alert procedure with them. Classroom doors should be closed for added protection.
  2. Pupils should then proceed to the designated safety area as directed by their teacher.
  3. It is important that the pupils remain quiet throughout the alert period. It may become necessary to make additional announcements that should be heard by the teachers and pupils. The PA/Bell systems may not function if there is a loss of electricity.
  4. The pupils are to sit on the floor against interior walls, knees bent up, head between knees, with arms over heads for added protection.
  5. The pupils are to remain seated and quiet until there is an announcement that the alert has ended and they are free to return to their classrooms.
  6. It is very important for the students to be aware of the seriousness of severe weather/tornado alerts.
  7. Noisy behavior and fooling around while an alert is in force will be considered a safety violation and perpetrators will be punished.

Please Note: Once students have reached their designated safety area, all students should be seated along inner walls, knees up, heads down, arms over heads; quiet.

Emergency Security Drill

The emergency security drill (commonly referred to as a “lock down”), helps to prepare the school staff and the students for situations which require students to be safely secured in their classrooms or other instructional spaces (ex. Library, Gym, etc.).  These drills will be conducted in an efficient and calm manner and students will be made aware of the importance of these procedures. In some cases the emergency drills are conducted in conjunction with the Lower Merion Police Department and with personnel from the Lower Merion School District Operations Department. In all but the most extreme circumstances students will be notified that the situation is a drill prior to it being conducted.