Today proceeded as a normal day would until the fire alarm went off. Students have been trained since Kindergarten how to act if the fire alarm goes off while they are in class; however, lunch is a different story.
The fire alarm sounded at around 11 o’clock this morning after there had already been seven minutes of first lunch. According to junior Sarah Deveer, many students were just confused as to what they should do next.
“Everything [and everyone] just stopped,” Deveer said.
Principal Mr. Timothy McCarthy then made an announcement in attempts to end the confusion. However, without any way to magnify his usually booming voice, many students couldn’t hear him. Students like Deveer, who sit by the school store, were among those unable to hear him.
One thing that was clear, thanks to the actions of other students, was that they all had to go outside. For some this meant giving up their spots in the lunch line. Sophomore Kelsey Bonini found this very frustrating.
“I was so p**d because I was in the middle of paying, and then they told me to go outside.” Bonini said.
Everyone did make it outside though, many with their lunches, and then after about twenty minutes returned to lunch. It did seem that many of the students were trying to eat rather quickly because they were not sure how much longer they would have for lunch.
McCarthy then made another announcement, with a megaphone this time. This gave the students another five minutes of lunch (until 11:40) and then a five minute passing period before the beginning of their sixth block. This is only slightly behind the usual schedule, and none of the kids seemed too upset about it.