bomb threat and cell phones

Bit of excitement a few weeks ago- bomb threat - But just as the students had all been evacuated to the gym, heavy winds and rain blew up, and knocked out the power. Since they hadn't been told anything, some of the poor short people thought we were having a tornado. We had 8 or 9 sheriffs in uniform, and guys in black with POLICE stenciled in glow-in-the-dark white on their backs, and dogs sniffing around the rooms. Luckily, this just randomly happened to be the one day a month we have our "character-building assembly" (usually only for 7th and 8th grades). But now, suddenly a minister was trying to define the word 'deference' for K-8, and trying to say that "It's not always just about you." Though it sounds painful, it was at least something to keep them occupied.

In the meantime, parents were unable to call the school (power out, and besides, the secretaries had been evacuated also) but some had heard it on the scanner, and called all their friends, relatives, acquaintances, and apparently even total strangers. At the same time, students were forbidden to use their cell phones, which were supposed to be turned off, and that had parents even crazier. A steady stream of parents, grandprents, and even distant cousins and best friends of parents were headed to the school to take the kids home. Now we have careful lists of who can, and cannot, take kids away from school, but those were in the (evacuated) office and on the (powerless) computers. But since this is a small town ( I mean a SMALLLLLL town), most every body (except me) knew most everybody, and who was related to whom and who could really take whoever, and besides, they made each adult sign out each kid.

Three hours later, the school was proclaimed (but not out loud) bomb-free, the firetrucks left (this time without the sirens - Oh, Did I mention that earlier while we were trying to keep it all low-key that the firemen arrived with lights and sirens?) and the remaining approximately one-fourth of total enrollment all went to lunch together (half an hour late for the shortest, an hour early for 7th n 8th graders). There were onlly three second graders left in the school. It was clearly ridiculous to attempt a regular schedule, so for the afternoon we had bunches of kids in studyhalls with people other than their regular teachers. At 3:30 some of our buses had only 3 or 4 students to take home.

A good time was had by all.