The last day before winter break was a minimum day. And as with most minimum days, they scheduled a fire drill.
Insert eye roll here.
I do not like fire drills. They are disruptive. I never know which students are mine, so I hope that they're showing up where they're supposed to be. And then when we get back to class, they're all wound up.
I understand the importance of fire drills. I do. Emergencies happen. We've had to evacuate due to earthquakes and actual fire incidents (that were minor). But that doesn't mean I have to like participating in them.
But, it was a lovely, wet day in SoCal. It had rained much of the night before. And we were expecting more rain later that day. So, they'd surely cancel the drill, right?
Nope. Drill as scheduled.
*grumble, grumble, grumble*
I did luck out in that the drill fell on my prep period. When the alarm sounded, I was to report to an assistant principal to "assist". (Read: stand around.) We got out to the athletic fields, and then we were promptly sent back to class...
Back in class, I got back to the setting up for the day stuff I needed to do. I heard all the kiddos arrive back in class, and when things settled down, I figured it was a good time to hit the restroom before I had a class the next period.
I walked outside... And it was pouring down rain.
We missed getting rained on by minutes. Now, that was some good timing.
Fire drills in the school where I taught were never a big deal because we were such a tiny population. And they would never do them in inclement weather, or the threat of such.
ReplyDeleteGlad you just missed the rain!
You had a good day! You were not having to keep track of the kids from any class and you missed the rain! Love my gift card holders by the way. They are perfect and great for Christmas next year
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad. Now we know how long it takes to ship something to Canada. For future reference.
DeleteIt would appear that it's the same the world over. Fire drills must always be arranged for when it's most likely to rain on you! My work is the same.
ReplyDeleteNever fails. It must be a subsection of Murphy's Law.
DeleteGlad you missed the rain. You're lucky you don't have to deal with fire alarms when there's snow on the ground! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my, that is good timing!!
ReplyDeleteIt was.
DeleteWe used to have to do them at the hospital! I would grumble that it is hard to do with the patients trying to sleep. I was always told that if we didn't practice then we wouldn't know what to do when it was a real fire. And then we had a real fire. I never grumbled again!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, they are important. But annoying.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more. They are disruptive and I can never tell whether it's the lock down drill bell or the fire drill. I should probably not be in charge of children.
ReplyDeleteThey always announce for us. Because who can tell what each bell sequence means?
DeleteYes, good timing! My school used to have air raid drills in the 70s. Always a frightening concept.
ReplyDeleteWe still do duck-and-cover drills. But they're for earthquakes now.
DeleteI forgot about firedrills...I recall them in dead of winter and it was below zero. We grab our coats and went out and bare the cold elements.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Brrr.
Deletelol that was good timing and for it falling during planning period, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Liz - I guess the fire drills are a necessity ... and some of the kids will remember and be there to help others should an emergency arise. Lucky re the rain too ... still you need the rain, so I guess don't complain ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHaHa! The dreaded fire drill. As a sub, it really is a pain! I'm glad it worked out to be easier than usual.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're a pain. But they're generally good for one or two posts a year ;)
DeleteFire drills at businesses tend to be poorly scheduled, too. I remember one in the middle of a tropical storm. As in, torrential rain coming down. Strange that my grown son was discussing some fire drills he remembered in school yesterday. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI guess it's in the aether at the moment.
DeleteI never thought about fire drills from the teacher's point of view. I sure hated them at my last job. My position kept me too busy to want the interruption.
ReplyDeleteFor the full time teachers, it's more like that--an interruption. For a sub in there for one day, it's harder.
DeleteHmmm... That makes sense.
Delete