On Jan. 4, a District wide Professional Development Day, many teachers at FHN including English teacher Amy Stoker participated in emergency preparedness training. At this training, teachers learned various readiness tactics in case of an emergency, like how to apply a tourniquet, how to apply direct pressure to a wound, how to feed gauges directly into a vein and how to provide breathing for a collapsed lung.

“This training was so real and in turn more helpful,” Stoker said. “It was much more than just hide and lock the door, it was real life.”

Teachers learnt the training in three sections. The first section was why they were at the training and learning how it was important in saving lives. In the second section, an EMT talked to the teachers about what to do if there were injuries and how they would be the first ones there to help in that situation. The third section was immersion training where they were put into a classroom and, in the hall, a blank gun was fired. They had to barricade the door so no “intruder” could get in and simulate how they would protect themselves.

“When the gun goes off, your legs turn to jelly and you can have every idea of what to do and your body just won’t do it,” Stoker said. “I exercise and run a lot and I felt like I was running on tightly pulled rubber bands. I was running like a dork.”

Many students at FHN are uninformed about the training the staff does, but the ones who know about it, like freshman Cambrea Iffirg, think that the training that the teachers learn is very useful in preparing them for difficult situations.

“It is extremely reassuring to know that my teachers would take time to be a part of the training,” Iffrig said. “I feel better knowing that my teachers are equipped with the tools and knowledge in case of an emergency.”