ALICE Newsletter

GREATER NEW BEDFORD REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

1121 Ashley Boulevard, New Bedford, MA 02745-2496

Tel. 508-998-3321 Fax 508-995-7268 www.gnbvt.edu

Preparation • Passion • Perseverance

September 19, 2018 (updated, September 26, 2018)

Dear Parent(s) or Guardian(s),

The safety and welfare of our students and staff are our highest priority at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. Due to the unpredictability of the society we live in today, the Security Department along with the New Bedford Police SRO Division will be conducting a school lockdown/active shooter drill. We will be practicing safety drills throughout the year to help our staff and students know what to do in an emergency.

Our school has been working closely with local authorities and representatives from the community to correctly develop and implement safety procedures using the ALiCE Lockdown (the lowercase i is the companies trademark) protocols. ALiCE stands for: Alert; Lockdown; Inform; Choice; and Evacuation. The intent of the drills throughout the school year are to improve our ability to protect students, save lives, and reduce injuries. These practice drills allow us to evaluate our emergency operation plans and improve our response skills.

We are pleased to announce that all staff and faculty at our school have been trained and we will now be training students. We will be practicing a drill with the entire 9th grade student body during their shop cycle. The first training will be on Monday, September 24, 2018 from 1:30pm-2:30pm to students that are on division 9-1. The second training date will be on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 from 1:30pm- 2:30pm (this date will be rescheduled) to students who are on Division 9-1. The training will consist of a PowerPoint presentation followed by hands-on scenarios that will demonstrate how students can evacuate, barricade, and what do if confronted with an intruder. In each session, students will be broken into eight groups and will use the 2nd and 3rd classrooms in the K-Block section of the school.

Please talk with your child about the training. Our goal, while practicing important safety procedures, is to be sure all students feel safe.

If you do not wish to have your child participate in the hands-on portion of the training, please call Mr. Williams, the Assistant Principal at (508) 998-3321 x277. If we do not hear from you by Friday, September 21, 2018, your child will participate in the hands-on portion of the training, unless they indicate themselves, that they do not want to participate. If your child chooses to opt out, he or she will observe the hands-on scenarios from the “safe-zone” location in the classroom they are assigned to (which will be completely out of the way of physical contact). If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Warley J. Williams, III
Assistant Principal, grades 11-12
Director of Security
Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech
508-998-3321 ext. 277