CARBONEAR, NL — A secure school protocol was carried out at Carbonear Collegiate Tuesday following an incident with two students.
Carbonear Collegiate, a high school servicing several communities in the local area, was forced to utilize secure school protocol in response to a pair of students who were deemed disruptive to school safety that day.
The secure school protocol is a safety procedure that sees students and staff restricted in their movement throughout the school. During the protocol, all doors and windows are to be locked, and proper emergency response authorities called, though instruction and classes still continue.
Ken Morrissey of the Newfoundland and Labrador English Schools District explained that while the secure school protocol is a safety measure, it is not the same as a lockdown, which sees instruction stop and only comes into play under extreme circumstances.
“This was a precautionary measure to address the issue,” said Morrissey. “During that time, student safety was not at risk.”
Carbonear Collegiate did contact the Harbour Grace RCMP Tuesday, however, according to Staff Sgt. Greg Hicks, the situation had resolved itself by the time officers arrived at the scene.
“On our side of things, there wasn’t much to it,” said Hicks. “Which is good in a way, because no one wants to see these sorts of situations get out of hand.”
During secure school protocols, teachers and staff are to ensure that hallways remain empty until the situation has been resolved, and to take attendance of all students in the classroom. Though similar to the lockdown procedure, the latter is only carried out in the event of an armed intruder.
