 Preparedness for emergencies and disasters, as well as the prevention of accidents is a serious concern of those who care for children in the home, at school, and in the community. Activities to promote safety/injury prevention can be incorporated in all PTSA/PTA interests. To help inform our communities about the value and importance of emergency preparedness (e-prep), Northshore Council PTSA E-Prep co-Chairs Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch have compiled some sample blurbs that local PTA/PTSAs can customize and include in their communications. See some examples below (scroll all the way to the bottom for an easy, downloadable version!). Be Prepared, Not Scared Did you feel our 4.6 earthquake near Monroe in July? Are you prepared at home for an emergency or a disaster? Here are 12 ways you can get ready (click on the picture):  The Great Washington Shake Out: October 17th On October 17, at 10:17am, [school name] will be participating in the Great Washington Shake Out, an earthquake preparedness drill. Participating is a great way for your family or organization to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes– wherever you live, work, or travel. Remember to drop, cover and hold during an earthquake! Stay where you are for several minutes afterward, bracing for possible aftershocks. Click on the picture for more information.  Northshore School District Emergency Reunification The Northshore School District has created a standard Emergency Reunification process for all schools and conducted a drill in May 2019. For information on the process (Click Here) . [School Name] Family Reunification Do you know what to do in the case of an emergency or crisis during school hours? Do not rush to school to pick up your child. Our school is in an area where the additional traffic may impede needed emergency vehicles or personnel from arriving. If a school evacuation is ordered, your presence at the site could delay evacuation and reunification. When the situation is under control, students and parents will be reunited in a safe, orderly, and timely manner.
Please take this opportunity to update the emergency contacts in ParentVueOpens a New Window. and consider including trusted neighbors or others that can respond to the reunification sites in case your response is delayed by other emergencies happening in our region. How Can you Help? Please remind your emergency contacts that when picking up a student during an emergency, everyone must have picture identification. These additional contacts will be critical if you cannot pick up your student.
Emergency Supplies Did you know…. that the supplies used in an emergency by the students and staff of [School Name] are funded by the [school name] PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association)! Parents thank you for your donations to our PTSA! [insert Picture of School E-Prep Container] Download them in Word format (.docx) so that they are easy to edit and copy and paste as needed: 
How do you share information about e-prep in your community? What ideas do you have about building e-prep awareness? We'd love to hear from you! Email Robin and Tracy with your ideas.
 The Northshore Council PTSA Emergency Preparedness Team, composed of E-Prep Chairs from schools across the district, meets monthly to discuss and support important school safety and preparedness initiatives. Topics have included NSD Emergency Management, Safety Policies, Emergency Containers, Safe School Emergency Operations Plans, Safe Schools Advocacy in Olympia, Student/Parent Reunification, School Active Threats, Security Cameras, Door Locks, Stop the Bleed Kits and much more. At the June 3rd, 2019 E-prep meeting, three individuals were recognized for outstanding contributions to Emergency Preparedness this year:
 Northshore Council PTSA 2019 E-Prep team picture, taken at the June 3, 2019 meeting. (Photo courtesy of Robin McKenzie.) Next year we hope to expand our team to include every school PTSA in the district and create even more collaboration with the School District Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness group. Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch will be serving as our Northshore Council E-Prep Co-Chairs for 2019-20. Please contact Tracy and Robin if you would like to be a part of our PTSA E-Prep team and join our Facebook group.
 The Northshore School District has established a consistent emergency Reunification methodology for all schools to ensure efficient and safe release of students to parents in the event of a crisis or emergency situation. It conducted a drill of the process in May 2019 that included district administrators, students, parents, and community members. As a part of the drill, students were bused from Woodinville High School to Pop Keeney Stadium and then were successfully reunited with their parents after a mock crisis/emergency. More drills are being planned for next year. Here is a list of things parents should know:
If you are interested in learning more about the process and methodology of parent-student reunification, here are a couple of resources: Northshore School District "Reunification Process" page: Standard Reunification Method handbook by The "I Love You Guys" Foundation:  Reunification drill organizers gathered outside of Pop Keeney stadium. (Photo courtesy of Robin McKenzie.) EVENT POSTPONED!!! ❗❗❗EVENT CANCELLED! Due to adverse weather and school district closure, this event has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule soon and will share information as details become available! Thanks so much for your understanding.  Technology and social media are capturing the time and attention of our children. Families need to keep pace with the cyber world in order to keep our kids safe! Parents/guardians and community members are invited to attend a FREE presentation by Stefanie Thomas, "Child Internet Safety," on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 from 6:30-7:30pm at the Woodmoor Elementary Library. Ms. Thomas worked 6 years on the Internet Task Force for the Seattle Police Department working both internet crime against children and the commercial sexual exploitation of children as a victim advocate. She uses this experience to education parents about internet safety. Topics of discussion include:
FREE childcare provided by YMCA by reservation. Please RSVP for childcare to woodmoorptsachair@gmail.com. This event is co-sponsored by Woodmoor PTSA and Northshore Council PTSA. 
 The Washington Great Shake Out is coming on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 10:18a.m.! It is the largest statewide earthquake drill and tsunami siren test. There are many ways for individuals, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, community groups, government agencies, and others to participate in the Shake Out, to get prepared for earthquakes, and to share what you're doing with others so they can do the same.
Federal, State, and Local Emergency Management experts and other official preparedness organizations all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is the appropriate action to reduce injury and death during earthquakes (here's why). The Washington Great Shake Out is our opportunity to practice how to protect ourselves during earthquakes. Resources:
 If you have looked at Council's 2018-19 calendar, you may have noticed that we have included information about awareness months throughout the year. We hope that these may be helpful for you as you think about advocacy, meeting or parent education topics and more! September is National Preparedness Month (NPM) working to raise awareness of the importance in being prepared, now and throughout the year, for the types of natural and man-made disasters that could affect where we live, work, go to school, worship and visit. In Washington state, the likelihood of a hurricane is pretty low, but an earthquake that could have just as devastating effects without any warning. Plus, we have our own issues with wildfires, storms and snow, too. Visit our Emergency Preparedness pages for more information on steps to get better prepared and two weeks ready! The Department of Homeland Security's website also offers a wealth of resources for NPM to help promote preparedness: https://www.ready.gov/september. Washington State PTA also has a resolution that ties in with NPM:  Each school's PTA/PTSA Emergency-Preparedness Chair or delegate is invited to attend our first Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) and Safety meeting of this year! We are excited to be joined by Henry Simon, NSD Director of Safety and Security, who will share an overview of his plans for this up-coming school year.
Date: Thursday, September 20th, 2018 Time: 1:00PM to 2:30PM Location: Northshore School District Administration Building Room AC-204 (3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell, WA 98021) Agenda 1:00 – 1:10 PM Introductions 1:10 – 1:55 PM Henry Simon, NSD Director of Safety & Security Presentation 1:55 – 2:30 PM Round Table open discussion Plans, Activities, and any Issues for the up-coming year 2:30 PM Close meeting Questions? Email Robin McKenzie. |
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