Interesting little tidbit, you have a right to your life, your liberty, and the pursuit of your happiness but did you know that it is unbelievably difficult to have those things if you’re dead? Disasters, more likely than shark attacks and less likely than stubbing your toe, they happen and you should be prepared for them. Schools such as CKHS have drills set in place to help you be just that. Fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly even the rapture have all been practiced and rehearsed so that in the real event, you can live on to die some other time. They are a school staple, and of utmost importance but, why?

Fellow partaker in learning 17 year old senior Kendall Madison says that Safety Drills exist to “…help us practice and prepare for emergencies” that Kendall, is exactly right! Safety Drills are exactly what they say on the very informative tin! They exist to drill you for safety, to prepare in case of fire and all other abhorrent disasters. They may be obnoxious, cumbersome and most of all: LOUD, but they serve a purpose. Very pure, and very simple.

Craig Johnson of Vice Principal fame heads a lot of the safety “activities” in this wondrous institution. Responding to the hub-bub, “Our safety drills our mandated by the state” this therefore, means that they are required by law. It works like this: every month there must be a drill. 3 fire drills, 3 lockdown drills, and 1 shelter-in-place drill per year. This is has been active since July of 2013, and is dictated by the OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). Thanks Engrossed Senate Bill 5620! Technically, making children stand outside in the cold is a law that has been passed, not just a favorite pass time of your teachers.

It’s not just fodder either, each drill is documented and recorded. The state is even nice enough to provide a sample form, how sweet. The form consists of bullet points and boxes. Essentially, it’s a staff worksheet. What drill is this, what school is this, were the staff not serious about the drill (yes, that one is in there, so if you see Robert Smithrud making a history related pun during a shelter-in-place, you can call him out), the personal favorite of the office though: other______. What could it be? Bear attack? Bee swarm? Two kids in a trench coat pretending to be an adult? Who knows?

So, yes, they are annoying, inconvenient, plus the bell does sound like Chewbacca, but these drills are important. With the school shootings, fires, earthquakes (looking at you San Andreas fault) becoming a normalcy, and not to mention the recent the lockdown that occurred just a few months ago, they serve a place…a very cold one out in the field, but one nonetheless.