Updates for Dressel

We had another successful fire drill today!  Your students may talk about it at pick up time.

We move closer to having more outside features in the courtyard.  Special School District has met with their playground company and have a plan to get approved.  As we know more about the status we will let you know.

Dressel fire drill today - a perfect opportunity to practice at home!

We had a fire drill at Dressel today.  The drill went well and the children did a great job of  being safe!!

As a school we do fire drills every month.  As a family it is a safe practice to do regular fire drills at home also.  It is so simple, and may save a life.  As a family, choose an emergency meeting location; this location may be at the tree in your neighbors front yard, or maybe your mailbox if it is far enough away.  This will allow your child a safe place to go and stay until all family members reunite, or first responders arrive.

At school we teach the students to drop what they are doing and leave the building as they are, sometimes without shoes or a coat.  At home, as we do at school, you can choose the time and weather conditions outside to make this a good experience.  We have had an unplanned alarm or two over the years when we have gone outside in inclement weather, and it is good to teach your children that for fire, getting out and staying out is the most important thing.

Remind 101 for communication

For immediate information distribution we use Remind 101 for important information reminders and emergency information.  The fastest source of information in a true emergency will likely be the district website, however we will also use Remind 101 so that you may be personally alerted.

Remind 101 is a texting or email service.  The parent texts a code to the phone number that we provide. When we publish a notice you will receive a text message.  Remind 101 is a free service, however please be aware that you may be charged by your phone company if you are charged for text messages.

For the Dressel group the phone number to send a text to is 917-746-3484.  Text the characters @dressel

You will receive a flyer with directions for receiving both text messages and email messages.

Drill and Emergency Evacuation Areas for Dressel

With drill practices happening this week and coming weeks at Dressel, we wanted to share with you the locations of where your students will go.

Fire Drills or real event: Lower level students will exit and go to the upper blacktop area in the back of the school behind the playground.  Upper level students will exit the front and go to the concrete stairs in the front corner of the parent lot.  From there, dependent upon the scenario, they may either follow the sidewalk to the adjacent cul-de-sac or join the group in the back of the building.

Earthquake Drill or real event:  We shelter in our classroom under furniture, prop our door open for egress if the building shifts, and then at the completion of the tremor, we exit the building to our evacuation location for fire.

Intruder Drill or real event:  We have a location to access for each room, however for obvious reasons we do not share this information via electronic means.

Tornado Drill or real event:  Lower level students have an enclosed interior room across the hall which they will access.  Upper level students will go into the closets and bathrooms.  In the event of a tornado watch our procedure is to clear the evacuation areas for quick access if needed.

Coming into the building

We started something new this morning.....  While we encourage families to arrive only 10 minutes before the class start time, we realize that this does not work for some families.  Families who arrive early have a couple of places where they can congregate.

• The lower level has a foyer area where families may gather, but also the PAT group room may be available beside the Caterpillar room.  There are somethings scheduled in that room, so it is not always available in the morning and afternoon.  Please remember to tidy up before you leave.
• The upper level has a hallway directly outside of the office.  It has a sofa and we have requested a few chairs.  We will also put some books in a basket nearby so that the kiddos have something to look at. If you would like to drop off some books you no longer use at home, please feel free to do so.  We will add in books and try to rotate them a bit.  

Playground concrete

One of you noted that there were a couple of areas on the playground concrete where kiddos could trip. The Lindbergh facilities guys came over to day to look at it, and they have scheduled the concrete company to come so that they can look at options for repair.  In the meantime, we will place items nearby to prevent the area from being a pathway, thus avoiding any trip potential.

The Blog is Born

This blog was created so that we can share LECE information with Dressel Part Day families.  We depend on your input about what is working at our new site, and what is not working for our families; we also want a method of communication just to keep in touch.  We will post regularly to keep you informed of what is happening.  Our transition will be a work in process for many months so as always I appreciate your input to make Dressel you child's preschool home.  Please subscribe to the blog so that I can communicate with you and, and you can communicate with me about your questions and wishes.

The guidelines for the blog are very simple:
1.)  Please make sure to protect our students's privacy and remember to not share information about your child, or your child's friends.
2.)  Please know that you may contact me at anytime via email or phone.  I travel between both buildings and in and out of my office all day, so if you need to speak with me right away, contact the front desk at ECE and they will find me.
3.)  Use the blog for topics of general interest, hopefully this will be a great community and resource for everyone.