Elementary School fourth grade students practicing an earthquake/tornado drill. /Submitted photo
SEYMOUR - A presidential proclamation was issued by President Barack Obama Aug. 31 declaring September as “National Preparedness Month.”
Over the last two weeks all Seymour Public Schools' fourth graders participated in the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s “Students Tools for Emergency Planning” program, also known as STEP.
This is the ninth year Seymour students have participated in the STEP Program which was piloted in Seymour in 2008. Seymour Public Schools Director of Security Rich Kearns received national recognition when FEMA modeled the national program after the Seymour program.
The STEP Program is sponsored by FEMA and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Rich Kearns, Director of Security for Seymour Public Schools, presented the program to all fourth grade students at Bungay Elementary School and Chatfield-LoPresti Elementary School.
Seymour Police Department School Resource Officers Jack Harkins and Corey Tomasella assisted Kearns in showing students the steps on how to prepare their families in the event an emergency or disaster was to strike.
Each student was given a backpack to take home that contained items to help start building their own family emergency kit along with information to share with their families letting them know where to start to better prepare them in the event of an emergency.
Conducted drills
The goal of STEP Program is to provide some resources to families in the community to better prepare them for emergencies as it is found that if people are better prepared to deal with a crisis the outcomes and recovery process will be that much easier for them.
The students also participated in an earthquake drill as part of the “2015 Great Northeast Shakeout” which takes place across the country each year during September.
Throughout September Kearns, Seymour Fire Marshal Tim Wills, Seymour Police Department Commander John D’Antona, Seymour Police School Resource Officers Harkins and Tomasella, as well as other first responders conducted fire drills and other emergency response drills district-wide with all students K-12.
All Star Transportation Safety Supervisor Brenda Bass and school bus safety team members also joined Kearns and Seymour Police Officers in conducting school bus evacuation drills for all Elementary and Middle school students in the district who ride the bus to school.
All of these programs and drills are part of a continuous effort by Seymour Public Schools and Seymour Emergency Services Personnel working together to better prepare our schools and families in the event an emergency were to occur and to help make our schools a safer place.
This is a press release from Rich Kearns, Director of Security, Seymour Public Schools.
The STEP Program is sponsored by FEMA and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Rich Kearns, Director of Security for Seymour Public Schools, presented the program to all fourth grade students at Bungay Elementary School and Chatfield-LoPresti Elementary School.
Seymour Police Department School Resource Officers Jack Harkins and Corey Tomasella assisted Kearns in showing students the steps on how to prepare their families in the event an emergency or disaster was to strike.
Each student was given a backpack to take home that contained items to help start building their own family emergency kit along with information to share with their families letting them know where to start to better prepare them in the event of an emergency.
Conducted drills
The goal of STEP Program is to provide some resources to families in the community to better prepare them for emergencies as it is found that if people are better prepared to deal with a crisis the outcomes and recovery process will be that much easier for them.
The students also participated in an earthquake drill as part of the “2015 Great Northeast Shakeout” which takes place across the country each year during September.
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| School bus evacuation drill held at Seymour Middle School. |
Throughout September Kearns, Seymour Fire Marshal Tim Wills, Seymour Police Department Commander John D’Antona, Seymour Police School Resource Officers Harkins and Tomasella, as well as other first responders conducted fire drills and other emergency response drills district-wide with all students K-12.
All Star Transportation Safety Supervisor Brenda Bass and school bus safety team members also joined Kearns and Seymour Police Officers in conducting school bus evacuation drills for all Elementary and Middle school students in the district who ride the bus to school.
All of these programs and drills are part of a continuous effort by Seymour Public Schools and Seymour Emergency Services Personnel working together to better prepare our schools and families in the event an emergency were to occur and to help make our schools a safer place.
This is a press release from Rich Kearns, Director of Security, Seymour Public Schools.
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