Inside his fourth grade classroom at Maple Grove Primary, teacher Eric Anderson readies his students for the announcement that is about to come across the loudspeakers.
"If our building started to shake right now, our body would be like, 'I need to protect you,'" Anderson told the class. "And you would have to purposefully think, 'Hold on. Slow down. Stay calm. Listen.' There's adults in the room that are going to want to help you."
The Great Shakeout is an annual earthquake preparedness drill held across the country each October. During the drill, students are taught how to recognize an earthquake, how to safely get to a safer space and how to make sure other students are safe in the aftermath of an emergency.
"We were ready. We did it," Anderson told the class after they practiced ducking under their desks. "Now, what might we do now?"
"Go check on other people?" offered a student.
"Yeah!" Anderson replied. "You're fourth graders. You're the most responsible students. We have to be willing to go help other people who might need it."
The Great Shakeout is one of several emergency preparedness drills that students take part in throughout the year. We appreciate the help of everyone who took part in this year's Great Shakeout.
