Week 4

We are now on our 4th week to Getting prepared in every way.                                                                                                     

 Don't everer feel you can’t jump in at any time we will have catch up weeks

Week 4

It’s time to start a new week!! Sit back and relax. This is “Catch Up Week”! Things come up, people get sick, so this week is a time to go back and do a few of the things that just fell through the cracks the last three weeks.

So this week we will take a week.

Your assignment for the week:

1. Go back and review the list of seven steps for the last three weeks. Work on any or all you have missed.

Enjoy your week and use this as a time to catch up.

Anyone who ordered food storage on the group special for the month of January money is due today so we can get it ordered.  Check the binder and see what you owe.  I am trying to have everyone make the checks payable to Emergency Essentials this year instead of to me.  Also I will be posting the group specials and other information on our ward food storage blog at renofoodstorage.blogspot.com.

If you want to be on the e-mail list for the 7 steps to being prepared just put your e-mail on the sheet in the binder.  You can always catch up.  I will e-mail you the ones you need just let me know next to your e-mail what weeks you are needing we are on the 4^th week this week.

Week 3

We are now on our 3^nd week                                                                                                                                                     

^{1.      Call your child’s school(s) and ask for a copy of the school emergency plan. If your school has no plan to notify parents in case of an emergency or to provide for a student’s needs during a lock down, now is the time to get involved in the parent club or to get a group of friends together to go and ask some questions of your school administration and school board. This is very important. Every day in the United States there are at least a few schools locked down. Be sure to set aside some time to discuss this plan with your children.}

^{If they don’t have one ask some specific questions. A good plan should include:}

^{A Crisis Management Team. This team should include administrators, teachers and classified staff members who all have specific assignments during an emergency. A clear chain of command should be in place and individual assignments and responsibilities should include:}

^{·        Safe evacuation.}

^{·        Notification of authorities.}

^{·        Notification of parents.}

^{·        Identification and confirmation of the location of every student.}

^{·        Medical assistance.}

^{·        Student needs such as sanitation, food, and water.}

^{·        Communication between all school employees.}

^{·        Parent and student reunification}

^{A Communication Plan:}

^{·        How will the staff communicate with each other during a crisis?}

^{·        If the electricity is out, how will they communicate? Does the school have walkie-talkies, a public address system?}

^{·        What is the plan to notify the office if a child was out of the classroom when the emergency or lockdown occurred?}

^{·        How will the school notify parents? Is there a web notification plan in place? Will there be a taped phone message? Can this be delivered to more than one phone number? If the school will only notify you at one phone number and you have more than one child in the school, make their emergency phone numbers different, just in case you are away from your phone. One child could use your cell phone number and one your spouse’s cell or work number, or a grandparent’s number.}

^{·        How will the school notify students who are outside of the building in a PE class or at lunch that they need to return to the building?}

^{·        How and who will decide whether school should be dismissed early and how parents will be notified?}

^{·        Is there parent contact information available in the classroom as well as in the office?}

^Training:

^{·        Have all school staff been trained in emergency first aid and CPR?}

^{·        Have staff been trained in evacuation and report procedures, and have they held practice drills?}

^{·        Have children been trained and drilled in the proper response to a likely emergency? In other words, if you live in earthquake country do they practice drop and cover? Do they know what to do in event of a lockdown, and has it been practiced?}

^{·        Have staff been trained how to reunite children with their parents or designated caregiver? When my daughter lived in North Carolina, children stood with their teacher every day at dismissal time until the teacher saw the parent or caregiver, and then the child was allowed to leave.}

^{·        Is there similar staff training available for parent volunteers?}

^{·        How often does training occur}

^{Security Procedures:}

^{·        How is visitor access monitored?}

^{·        How many doors are left unlocked with free access available during the school day?}

^{·        What security is in place for large gatherings such as athletic events and assemblies?}

^{·        Are there parking lots next to classrooms that are open to public parking? We have not experienced many car bombs at schools, but they are a real possibility. Also, if it is only a few feet from a parked car to a place where students gather, how easy would it be for a child to be snatched? Parking next to a classroom should be eliminated or fenced off, locked, and available for staff parking only, whenever possible.}

^{·        How are students picked up after school? Are there staff members available to control traffic and observe adults picking up children?}

^{·        Has the staff been trained to recognize suspicious mail?}

^{·        Do students and staff know how to spot and report suspicious activity on and around school grounds?}

^{·        How often are security procedures reviewed?}

^{Security Procedures:}

^{·        When will a school evacuation be ordered?}

^{·        Where is the student evacuation site? An evacuation site should be close enough for students to walk. It should be free of barriers such as fences and streams. It should provide shelter if possible.}

^{Disaster Supplies — Does each classroom and office have the following supplies?}

^{·        Nonperishable food (such as energy bars with a 5-year shelf life — which will save money and time in the long run).}

^{·        Water.}

^{·        Battery or crank radio; one with a siren is even better!}

^{·        First-aid kit.}

^{·        Flashlight or glow sticks (I like glow sticks because you don’t have to worry about batteries).}

^{·        Mylar space blankets (can be used as blankets or have a slit cut in them for protection from the rain or snow. Yes, earthquakes and other disaster can happen when it is raining or snowing).}

^{·        Sanitation supplies including a port-a-potty, wet wipes, TP and biohazard bags. Last year a teacher was fired after a school lockdown for allowing his students to use a trash can as a potty. He had the students of the same sex surround the student using the facility, but he was later told this was unacceptable even though the school was in lockdown. He was told he should have called the office and someone would have come for the kids. What? How is that a lockdown? If there is enough danger for a lockdown to be issued at all, why would you usher kids from a classroom and put them in harm’s way, for any reason, except a life-threatening illness or injury.}

^{·        Duct tape and sheeting — it's great to cover windows if there is a threat on campus. Mylar blankets also work great to keep warm in a winter power outage.}

^{·        Whistle.}

^{·        Student attendance roll with contact information.}

^{Supplies should be contained in backpacks or buckets with handles so they can easily be moved to an evacuation area Now that you understand the needs that may be unmet in your schools, get involved and get busy. It should not be difficult to get school boards and community members involved in making sure classrooms are adequately supplied.
You may need to help supplement school or district budgets to accomplish your goals. Parents are usually more than happy to contribute a few dollars to make sure their children are protected.}

<sup>Some schools are now requiring either a personal preparedness kit or parents are assessed an amount to provide a classroom kit. Remind the community that even if students never use the supplies you have on hand, schools are often designated as shelters during a disaster and they will be invaluable at that time. We all know relief agencies have warned us to be prepared to be on our own for at least the first 72 hours, even in a shelter. 

Whether in elementary school, high school, or college, our children deserve our most thoughtful efforts to see that they are protected and provided for in the event of a real emergency. After all, emergencies can happen in any neighborhood or community — even yours!</sup>

^{2.      With your family, make a list of your 10 favorite meals. These should be the ones you could eat over and over again. They should include meals that would be appropriate for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Next compile a list of their 5 favorite desserts. This is a fun topic for around the dinner table. We will use these in coming weeks and months to accumulate your food storage. Place the list in your binder. Here is an example}

^{Breakfast                                          Lunch                                                        Dinner                                                        Deserts and snacks}

^{Egg, Potato, Cereal, mis.              Soups, Sandwich, Salads              Mexican, Italian, Oriental}

                                                                                                                ^{American, ect.}                           

<sup>3. Add whistles and clothing to your 72 hour kits. (refer to the checklist and placed in your binder) For infants and young children make sure the clothing and diapers you add are at least a size too big. You can make too big work but too small is a huge headache during a crisis. Diapers are clothing for an infant or toddler. Check them off the checklist in your binder when you are finished and note anything you may need to purchase on this weeks shopping list. If you don’t have backpacks place items for each person in their own large trash bag for now. Make sure you label the bag so it is not accidentally thrown away.

4. Get out your list of items that use electricity. Purchase the items you will need to replace the use of your stove, (matches, charcoal, camp stove…) and dish washer (liquid detergent, paper plates, cups and bowls, plastic utensils…).

5. Find out which radio and TV stations are part of the emergency broadcast system for your local area. Be sure to find out which stations will handle emergency broadcasts for school emergencies. Place this list in your binder where you can find it quickly when the need arises.</sup>

^{6. Contact a friend or family member living at least 100 miles away and ask them if they would be willing to be your family “Out of Area Contact”. They are agreeing to let you come to their home if you need to evacuate, make phone calls on your behalf to your extended family and to store copies of important paper and photos. Get a large manila envelope and write their name and address on the front. We will use this next week}

STEPS TO BEING PREPARED

I am going to be posting each week the steps we are to work on for that week. Check the side bar for the post under prepared. I will still be e-mailing those of you who have given me there e-mails this information I thought it would be nice to also post it on our blog. I am posting all the weeks for January in this post. If you still would like to be added to the e-mails please let me know Its never too late to jump in.
week 1,