In Case of Emergency

Emergency Phone Calls:  If an emergency situation arises where you need to get a message to your child or his/her teacher, please call the school and leave your message with the secretary.  If all lines are busy, or if you call before or after school hours, your call will be forwarded to the school voice mail.  If the matter is an emergency and you get the voice mail, please hang up and try again until you get through.  

Emergency School Closure:   Severe weather or other emergency situations such as loss of hydro power, interrupted water supply or heating system breakdown may force school closure.  A decision to close the school will be announced on CKNW 980 AM as early as possible.  In the event of a potential school closure, parents must listen to this channel for St. Mary’s School (Vancouver) to be listed.   If not, then the school is open.  As conditions vary in Metro Vancouver, parents always have the discretion to decide if it is safe to travel from their location, even if the school is open.   Room parents may be utilized to call families in their classes if a closure is necessary once school is in session.

School Visits: All parents and visitors to the school must report to the office before going to a classroom.  This will eliminate classes being disturbed unnecessarily, and is also a safeguard for our students’ protection.
School Emergency Plans:  To ensure the safety of students and staff, precautions such as fire, earthquake and lockdown drills are practised regularly at our school.  The following information outlines the steps to be followed by staff at the school in case of a fire, earthquake or lockdown.  Also included are directions for parents and guardians to support the school efforts in ensuring your child’s safety.

At school during an emergency:

•    In the case of a fire, staff and students will immediately exit the building when the fire alarm is heard.

•    In the case of an earthquake, students will drop, take cover and hold for 60 seconds when the teacher issues the earthquake command.  Staff and students will then exit quickly when the shaking has stopped and assemble in a designated area outside.

•    In the case of the school lockdown, the students will lie on the floor away from doors and windows when the teacher issues then lockdown command and then lock the classroom door.  Students inside the building in transition between rooms will go to the closest room, close the door and lock it if possible.  Students outside the building are to move as far away from the building as possible and assemble at the school’s emergency evaluation location and remain there until instructions have been provided.  Students on field trips during a lockdown will be routed to an alternate location – St. Jude’s School.

•    A Command Centre will be established near the front of the school.

•    A Parent Reception Centre will be established once the Command Centre designates personnel to staff this area.

•    Students will be dismissed according to the directions you have provided on the Emergency Information Sheet during registration.

•    Parents/Guardians need to report to the Parent Reception Centre to fill out the necessary forms in order to have their child/children released to them.
To prepare for an emergency at school, parents need to:

•    Ensure accurate and up-to-date information is recorded on the Emergency Information Sheet on file at the school.  As changes in this information occur, please inform the office in writing as soon as possible.

•    Discuss your family’s plan:  preparedness routines, emergency supplies
During the school emergency parents should:

•    If the children are at school, do not phone the school as the phones will be needed to contact help from emergency services.

•    In the case of a fire or earthquake, arrive at the school as soon as possible and report to the Parent Reception Centre.  Please walk onto school grounds.  Only emergency vehicles are permitted to be on the school property.  Bring identification with you.  Your child/children will be brought to you in the Parent Reception Centre once the necessary paper work has been completed.

•    In the case of a lockdown, the doors to the school will remain secure and no parents or visitors will be allowed into the building until instructed by police or school officials. If possible, signs will be posted on doors indicating that the school is locked-down.   Parents are asked not to come to school until it is announced on radio station CKNW 980 AM.   When the incident is over, parents will be allowed to enter the school and will be directed to a Parent Reception Centre.  Your child/children will be brought to you in the Parent Reception Centre once the necessary paper work has been completed.

•    Please consider being involved in the school’s emergency preparations.  Parent volunteers are needed in many areas.