Diary 4

Kia ora tātou,

It was another stunning day here in Christchurch today. Perfect for our final part of the field trip, and also for the ShakeOut earthquake drill. Of course you can’t always pick the day an earthquake happens, so it pays to be prepared for all scenarios.

ShakeOut!

I felt like there should have been some excitement building for this morning’s ShakeOut earthquake drill. But everyone was just carrying on with their normal routine as though nothing special was happening. Then I realised that the staff and students here at Waitākiri are well used to the real thing! The school has also practised similar drills a number of times as part of their general preparedness in the event of another earthquake.

I guess that’s the key really – to practise enough so that in the event of a real emergency, you can react instantly and without really thinking. The school’s readiness sure did show. It was an impressive display by all staff and students during the drop cover hold exercise, as well as the whole school assembly on the field where rolls were called and all the post-earthquake drill checks had been done.

Keep at it

I wonder how your own ShakeOut drill went. Was it successful or are there things to work on? Even if there were a few hiccups that’s okay. The whole idea of a drill is to find your weaknesses and keep working at getting better. 

You caught up again with David Collins who spoke about the importance of ShakeOut. He talked about how easy it is to relax about being prepared for a major disaster. So it is a good idea to not only be ready with an emergency survival kit, but to also review and refine this kit as well as the procedures you have in place. As I have already mentioned, practising what to do more than just once will help you to act even when a stressful event, such as an earthquake, is taking place.

The last audioconference

The final audioconference for the week had more awesome questions from two schools: Marian School and Elm Park School. I have really enjoyed this week’s audioconferences, especially the less formal sessions in the LEARNZ Adobe Connect meeting room. Check out Audioconference Recordings if you missed the live versions.

School is for learning, even for the Principal

After lunch you met with Principal Neill O’Reilly, PA to the Principal Kim Hills, and Dianna Reynolds who answered questions on the first audioconference. It was really interesting talking with them about how the school puts together and actions their emergency plan. Things are always changing and there are so many different possible situations should an emergency take place, so the whole process needs to be constantly reviewed. Even staff at Waitākiri School, who have already experienced a serious emergency, need to work on their plan. Watch the video where they talk more about this.

Good-bye from the emergency shed

Your last stop on the field trip was the school’s emergency shed. This shed is packed with water, emergency blankets, food, torches, radios etc should there ever be any need to have students or staff stay on site overnight. Hopefully it is never needed, but you just never know…

I hope you have enjoyed being part of the field trip. I’ve certainly learned a lot and now have some plans to put in place when I return home. 

Catch you next time!

Andrew