Sunstone Emergency Plan
Sunstone Emergency Drills
In the case of a real emergency, Sunstone will contact families directly. If your child comes home with a story of an emergency at school, and you have not heard from us, you can rest assured that they are referring to a drill.
The Office of Child Care regulation states that we need to practice a fire drill each month and one additional drill every other month. Using this guideline we incorporate emergency drills covering fire, lockout/lockdown, and earthquake. Practicing these drills helps our students and staff condition themselves to react spontaneously and safely if and when an emergency situation arises.
At the beginning of the program year, we announce the emergency drills prior to practicing them and slowly move to unannounced drills as the year progresses. Additionally, we vary the time of the drills so that we can practice during a wide variety of situations such as times of transition, during the work period, and outside playground time.
Types of Emergency Drills:
The following are descriptions of the emergency drills that we practice. In the event of a real emergency, Sunstone will contact families via email as soon as possible.
Exit: In the case of a fire or any other situation that would mandate our evacuation of the building we use our “Exit” drill. At the sound of an alarm, our exit drill practices exiting the building (if inside) to a designated safe zone, or (if already outside) gathering together with your classroom in a safe zone. Once in the designated safe zone each classroom does a roll count and cross-check with the drill leader. Using our walkie-talkie system the “all clear” is called and we all move safely and orderly back inside to our classrooms.
Lock, Lights, Out of Sight: In the case of a threat or hazard either outside the building (lockout) or inside of the building (lockdown) we use our “Lock, Lights, Out of Sight” drill. This drill is announced over our walkie-talkie system and practices gathering quietly inside the classroom out of sight, with the lights off, door locked and windows shut. We have a silent communication system in place via our phones to cross-check attendance and pinpoint the location of every student and staff member in the school.
Drop, Cover, and Hold: In the case of an earthquake we use our “Drop, Cover, and Hold” drill. Whether indoors or outdoors, we practice dropping, covering and holding for a designated period of time, followed by exiting the building (if inside) to a designated safe zone, or (if already outside) safely gathering together with your classroom. As an extension of this drill, we will practice exiting to a designated safe zone and then moving safely together to a new safe zone.
Flash Alert
Sunstone families should subscribe to the Sunstone FlashAlert channel, as it will be our primary way to communicate any emergencies, inclement weather, school closures, delays, early pick-ups and more. Once you are subscribed you will automatically receive emails alerting you to and updating you on any emergency situations or inclement weather communications directly related to Sunstone.
Get the App
After you are subscribed, we highly recommend that you get the FlashAlert messaging app for your smartphone. The app is free, easy to install, will sync with your Sunstone FlashAlert account, and will flash an alert on your phone’s screen without you having to check your email.