Following last April’s tornado, which went across a Red Bank High School ball field and leveled a dugout, monthly tornado drills this semester are taking on a more serious tone.
“The students saw the reality of what a tornado does,” said RBHS principal GailChuy. “The first tornado April 27, we took them downstairs and the lights went out. Since April 27, when I say ‘Lock down for a tornado,’ the students go straight to it. Having been through a tornado once, they are more eager to obey when ordered.”
Red Bank High school assistant principal Gary Jones, left, who oversees student safety drills, and school principal Gail Chuy teach students often what to do in the event of a tornado. They carry handheld radios to keep communication flowing in the event of an emergency.She said she watched the weather March 2 and meteorologist reports said the tornado was heading toward RBHS.
“We were very lucky,” said Chuy. “We dodged that bullet.”
But she’s confident her students would have been prepared.