Sent out to Ignatian Formations, Bellarmine has established a new set of standards for evacuation plans. In the past, evacuations required students to meet with their formation class on Bellarmine’s Memorial Field. But with new rules in place, students will no longer meet with their formations unless they are in sixth period. A direct quote from the evacuation plan is shown below:
“Teachers will have a designated location on Memorial Field. Review the location on the field for each of your teachers. Students will exit the building with their classroom and stay with their teacher throughout the duration of the evacuation. YOU WILL NOT MOVE TO FORMATION (unless the evacuation occurs during 6th period.)”
To add to some confusion, these new rules also apply to lunches or passing periods:
“Evacuation during lunch: If an evacuation occurs during lunch, you will meet your teacher at the field location for that specific time period. Evacuation during passing period: If an evacuation occurs during a passing period, proceed to the field and the location of the class that you are heading to.”
Upon initial review, this new method may appear complicated and unnecessary. But when speaking to the Dean of Students Cari Harrison, the need for this new change becomes apparent: “Oftentimes for school evacuations, only one building has the fire alarm going off. So people go out to the field and think they are just going to go to formation. Well it doesn’t always work that way because the whole school is not evacuating.”
Additionally, Harrison acknowledges the struggles some students and teachers may find with the new rules: “we do not expect students to memorize the chart for all of their teachers. There are also plenty of administrators who will be at the entrance of the field to give direction.”
Harrison emphasizes that the main reason for this new evacuation plan is for overall student wellbeing and safety.
