11/1/11

Dear Audubon Families:

Today, November 1st is “Drill Day”.

On “Drill Day”, we practice three different safety drills. The first is a “Lockdown” drill. The purpose of a “Lockdown” drill is to practice a time when all students need to remain in the classrooms and not be in the hallways or go outside because of something dangerous inside or outside the school. Teachers explain a “Lockdown” to younger students by saying they are having hiding practice. The second drill is a bus evacuation. The purpose of a bus evacuation is to practice, in case of emergency, getting off of the bus using the back door. The third drill is a “Shelter-in-Place”. The purpose of a “Shelter-in-Place” is to move all of the students to a safer place in case of a storm. A fourth type of drill, “Evacuation”, is practiced once a month with the assistance of the Chicago Fire Department. This drill is used to quickly exit all students from the building.

These drills involve a change of pace to the regular school day that may worry some students. Our teachers prepare students for what to expect from each drill to lessen any anxiety. Most students think participating in the drills is fun, and you may discuss the importance of safety drills with your student. With practice, we will all act swiftly and with purpose in case of an emergency. However, if your student voices significant concern about the drills feel free to contact me or your child’s teacher.

Thank You,
Eric Fay
Assistant Principal

Audubon School

Thank you to of the Hawk Walk 2011 supporters, and congratulations to all the walkers!

Audubon is in need of 4 more math tutors to work in pairs with 2 small groups of 2nd grade students for one 45-minute session per week. (So, 2 volunteers with 5 students.) This small group math is a critical element of math differentiation at Audubon and uses an enriched math curriculum called Math Strategies/Problem Solving. This is a year-long commitment and is very rewarding. These 2nd graders are eager math learners. Volunteer checks required. This is a program also offered to 3rd and 4th graders, whose volunteers have been secured, but it’s the 2nd graders who won’t get this program this year if we don’t find 4 people to do this. Please consider yourself, your neighbors, your relatives and your friends. Thank you!

If you or someone you know is interested, please email Audubon’s math differentiation specialist Julia Sajovec at jazver@cps.edu.