Dear families,

 

We are writing to share that a few minutes after 8:00am this morning, our evacuation alarm (fire alarm) went off, and we cleared all people from the building, as is essential for safety in the event that the alarm sounds.  This happened calmly and safely for the small number of children, staff and families who were already in the building.  Everything was fine - a water pressure sensor in the basement triggered the alarm.  FDNY came to the building as is protocol anytime a safety alarm activates in a school.  There was no fire.  They arrived very quickly, checked in with our custodial team, and we were cleared for re-entry by 8:15 AM.  

 

The audio alarm stopped before we re-entered, however, the flashing lights that are part of the alarm system encountered some kind of glitch and would not stop flashing.  It took quite a bit of time for service technicians to arrive and turn off the flashing lights.  We got creative within the building and covered them up to continue on with our day as best we could, though it was not an overall pleasant experience.  By lunchtime, the entire system had been reset, and everything was back to normal. 

 

Teachers spoke with classes about what was going on and everyone stayed calm and worked together to make it as smooth as possible.  We wanted to share this context for any conversations you might have at home or over break with your children.

 

In partnership, 

Diane