Last week, Benet Academy students practiced three drills regarding safety: a fire drill, a tornado drill, and an active shooter drill. Each year, Safety Week allows students and faculty to stay prepared for any of these emergencies. Through each instruction, students saw the importance that Benet places on the protection and security of their students. The CrisisGo app, which Benet has now been using for one year, was also seen in action. During each drill, teachers received alerts on their phones and computers, creating a more efficient way to alert and evacuate the whole school in the case of an emergency.

One drill in particular was of great importance to review, especially following recent events. On September 4, Benet students were asked to pack the chapel to pray for healing and peace for a school shooting that occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, which took four lives and left many more injured. In the midst of these devastating events, Dean Cabay made sure to emphasize the procedure that Benet follows in the case of an active shooter. About twenty minutes of class time was set aside during fourth period on Friday to thoroughly discuss and review the options that students have to defend themselves, including a video outlining the ALICE strategy. ALICE—standing for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate—portrays methods that deviate from the standard lockdown procedure where students seek shelter. In the case of an intruder, students are taught to choose the path they feel will provide them with the most safety; some examples provided include finding a way to evacuate the building, barricading the door, etc. Reviewing these strategies allowed Benet students to feel more prepared. Junior MaryGrace Bracken offered her outlook on the situation, “Even though it is unlikely that any of these emergencies will happen, I find comfort in knowing how to protect myself and that our school takes these situations seriously.”