What You Need to Know

As an update to the previous Highlighter article on safety, teachers had a training on March 2 that addressed specific things students and teachers can do to be safer. Teachers discussed their biggest takeaways from this day.

Mr. Stapleton thought that Officer Maynard who ran the presentation had lots of things the teachers could do in an active shooting situation on campus. The presentation was called “Warrior Spirit” and discussed the transition from teachers as guardians to warriors.

Ms. VanHorssen, Bella the dog’s owner, thought that the biggest take away for students that she learned Friday was that students do not have to be in their room during the lockdown. If a student is in the bathroom and there is an intruder they should find the nearest classroom. She thinks kids need to know that they just need to get to a safe place; it does not have to be their original classroom.   

Mr. Stapleton thought that the most useful information that students should know is that students are the first line of prevention when it comes to stopping any scenario that may cause any harm to anyone in or outside of the Rocky community. He also stated that “RMHS is a safe place.”

English teacher Mr. Williams said that the biggest take away he found on Friday was that students need to keep their head up and make sure they notice what is going on around them. He says students need to make sure if they do not know someone who is knocking at the senior or athletic doors, do not let them in. They could be someone trying to cause harm to students.

Ms. Mauch was very pleased with the security presentation. She was very happy to hear that “teachers and students have the power to fight.” She never thought about it until Friday, but she agrees that if someone were to try and harm the students in her room she would not just hide.

Ms. Lea’s biggest recommendation for students was to “be aware of your surroundings.” She agrees with the “guardian to warrior” transition for teachers. She thinks it is just human nature for people to not sit and wait and believes if she was put in that situation she would act aggressively.   

Mr. Papp wanted to make very clear that students need to know that they have the option to report suspicious behavior or someone they are worried about. He says the only way students and teachers can make a difference is going to be by doing it as a community. It takes more than one person it takes all of the Lobo community.

“Getting after the reality,” is what Mr. Ross said following the presentation. Mr. Ross thinks that it is very important to talk to his students and makes sure they know what will happen in a threatening situation. He says he will have three “warriors” (that means students) in his room every class period in case of an emergency.

Mrs. Kapral added, “You’re in a safe place,” as the number one takeaway she got from the training Friday afternoon.

Mr. O’Grady was a big fan of the training. He thought he learned a lot, but most importantly he agrees with Mr. Ross with the fact that the school needs transparency between students and teachers. It is very important to have a good relationships with teachers, because if students know anything that is going on they need to feel safe talking to a teacher about it.  Also he thinks it’s important to be open with the kids and lay everything on the line so everyone is on the same page.

“Rocky is a safe place” was a common theme amongst the teachers and staff. With all of the dangers in today’s world and all of the possibilities, it is true that Rocky is still a safe place. Statistically, school shootings are very rare, as the chance is 1 in 140,000.

As a reminder, students who are worried about a friend or just someone random should not be afraid to report it. Students can use Safe to Tell on the back of their student ID, or talk to Mr. Stapleton or Mr. Ruffner about any problems they or someone they know may have.