Office of the    Principal Q & A ~ Security A parent writes: 1) If an emergency occurs that requires you to go into “lock down”, what happens to people who might subsequently arrive at the school? Will they be denied entry? If so, what happens to them? Is there another location on or off school grounds where these people might go for shelter, especially if they have been contaminated by airborne chemicals? Answer: In the event of a “lock down” alert, entrance and exit to the school is restricted on a case-by-case basis. In the event of chemical/biological attack, we will follow the instructions of the D.C. government and/or the Federal government. 2) Another issue: The student lockers are very small. Students store their many large books, lab equipment, coats and other items that they usually keep in their lockers. Is it realistic to assume that there would be sufficient space in their lockers to store their emergency kits? Answer: Students’ emergency kits are the second line of preparation. Food, water, flashlights, battery-powered TV, radio, cell phones, first aid - all will be provided by the school. Any thing the students bring in is for their personal use, and is not required but suggested. By the way, in our last letter a reference was made to “tissue paper”. That was an attempt to convey the suggestion that toilet paper might be a wise addition to the locker. 3) Also, could someone put on-line the form parents must complete that gives other people authorization to pick up their child (the form we received in the mail was accidentally tossed). Answer: The form is on-line effective March 25, 2003. I’d like to close this communication with a quote from Mr. Robert Peck, President of the Board of Trade. "We’ve learned some things. Given our adversaries’ capabilities, any incidents are likely to be geographically limited. The effects of explosive, chemical and radiological ('dirty bomb') events are likely to be felt in only a small area. It is unlikely we would need an immediate and universal evacuation from large sectors of our region. Even in the immediate area of an attack, it may well be more important to get first responders in than to get mass numbers of people out. Many scenarios would actually call for us to shelter-in-place, probably only for hours rather than days." Dr. David Stofa Principal/CEO sstofa@archbishopcarroll.org