Two separate incidents outside schools lead to brief hold and secure protocols

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on November 1, 2024.

Students and staff at both Alexandra Middle School and Ecole Connaught School were directed to initiate brief hold and secure protocols Thursday while police dealt with incidents outside.

The first was initiated at 11:50 a.m. at Alexandra Middle School and was lifted 12 minutes later at 12:02 p.m.

The second protocol was initiated at 2:32 p.m. at Ecole Connaught School and was cleared 16 minutes later at 2:48 p.m.

A call for a hold and secure is initiated if there is an emergency outside the building. To keep staff and students safe, no one is allowed to leave the building for the duration of the protocol and all exterior doors and windows are closed and locked.

The protocol remains in place even if it extends past dismissal times, and parents would then be provided updates with dismissal information.

“During emergency situations we need your help to avoid the area and ask that families look up to date information on our website and through our Facebook page,” states a press release.

Of the four emergency protocols, a hold and secure is the least severe and the school is still able to operate as normal inside the building. However, any outdoor activities, including field trips, are cancelled.

A shelter in place protocol is issued when it is safer to be inside the school building for incidents including medical situations, tornados, wildfires and dangerous goods spills.

An evacuation will be issued if there is an emergency including a fire or gas leak inside the building, and a lockdown is issued if there is an immediate threat of violence to everyone inside the building.

The Medicine Hat Public School Division welcomes any questions about the emergency responses, just call school administration at 403-526-2392.