In case of an earthquake, stop, drop, roll, and find Shalhevet’s first-ever on-campus emergency supplies.
Three days’ worth of emergency supplies have arrived on campus and will soon find their home adjacent to the Sport Court in a donated storage shed, as soon as it is repaired.
The supplies arrived Monday, Nov. 7, marking a major milestone in the new administration’s plan to prepare Shalhevet for earthquakes and other disasters.
Flashlights, hundreds of protein bars, four giant water barrels, and search-and-rescue equipment including a crow-bar and hard hats are ball being stored for now in the lobby next to the Chemistry lab in the Annex.
According to Director of Facilities Mr. Eli Schiff, the supplies will be moved in the next few days into a shed donated Dec. 16 by Ariela and Ralph Bijou, the parents of junior Marcella Bijou.
“I’m really glad we pushed this,” said Mr. Schiff said as he sifted through the bags of water purification packets and gloves. “It’s a big step in getting us ready for an emergency.”
The administration had put out a request in its weekly e-mail for someone to donate a shed to house the supplies outside, away frton any roof that could collapse on them.
But even inside the Annex, the supplies are a first in Shalhevet’s 19-year existence. Designed to sustain up to 200 stranded students and faculty for up to three days on campus, they were ordered by Mr. Schiff earlier this month from SOS Survival Products of Van Nuys.
“We saw it needed to get done, made it a priority and Eli Schiff made sure it happened,” said Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal in an e-mail. “I hope that people are really getting the sense that we mean business and will follow through on our commitments.”
Assisting Mr. Schiff was longtime school emergency consultant Richard Druyen, who in past years had inspected Shalhevet’s buildings for earthquake safety and had made recommendations about supplies.
Previous facilities directors Yossi Kastan and then Lili Einalhori had also worked with Mr. Druyen, Mr. Schiff said, but only this year was the funding provided to follow through.
