From September 8 to September 12, 2025, students at Benet Academy took part in Safety Week. Throughout the week, students practiced the proper procedures for fires, severe weather, and, most importantly, the active shooter drill.

In the event of a fire, Benet students and staff are instructed to evacuate as soon as possible and make their way outside of the school and to the baseball field, the track, or the soccer field. Once everyone is outside, the teacher takes attendance and makes sure that no one has been left behind. After everything is deemed okay, students and staff head back inside the building.

If there is severe weather such as a tornado, everyone should go into the basement, specifically St. Jude Commons. The teachers take attendance and everyone waits downstairs until the school has been alerted that it is safe to return to class.

Several years ago, Benet began practicing a technique for active shooter drills called ALICE. ALICE is different from many previous plans that schools put into place in case of an active shooter. Instead of just hiding and barricading in a classroom, ALICE encourages people to consider other options, such evacuating the building. ALICE stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, and evacuate.

Safety week proved to be effective for Benet students because they learned the proper steps for emergency situations and are well prepared in case something occurs. As sophomore Britta Hinz said, “I thought the drills were informative because now I know what to do in an emergency.” Hopefully situations of these types never happen, but it is reassuring that students know how to properly conduct themselves if one were to occur.