By Gassia Ashikian
Staff Writer
During third period, students were instructed to “drop, hold, and cover” under their desks for two minutes. Afterwards, students walked to the Costa baseball field with their class where they waited for their teacher to take attendance.
“The students did a great job of heading out to the field and settling down until everything was taken care of,” Mira Costa Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter said.
The search and rescue team, a group of teachers in charge of checking classrooms, did not participate in the drill this year. Because of this, the exercise was finished at an earlier time than originally expected.
“We did not do the search and rescue team this year because it is something we have practiced every other year at Costa,” Hofreiter said. “We will most definitely meet with the search and rescue team so that they actually know what they need to do in case of a real earthquake.”
The purpose of the drill is to make sure that all California public school students know what to do in the event of a real earthquake. It also helps the staff understand what it can improve on for future emergencies.
“A problem we had was getting everyone through the one narrow gate that led to the baseball field,” Hofreiter said. “Also, several students didn’t know who to give the attendance slips to, so next year we will have signs that make it more recognizable.”
Teachers who have classrooms in the history building had to access a different route to get the field due to the construction.
“I’m not sure why buildings on our side of the campus can’t use Stadium Way to lessen the crunch at the field entrance,” history teacher Bill Fauver said. “It might have to do with safety vehicle access. Other than that, I thought the drill went well and reinforced what we need to do in case of an emergency.”
Some students were inadvertently separated from their classes amid the confusion.
“I lost the rest of my class while walking out to the field,” sophomore Marissa Nwoke said. “Once I was on the field, it took awhile to find my classroom number. It would help if we knew where our class was going to meet.”
Many staff members felt the drill went by smoothly and that Mira Costa did the best it could in order to prepare for an actual earthquake.
“Everyone did a great job at the drill,” Mira Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “Though we never know what to expect, I know our teachers will protect students in the event of an earthquake.”
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