Every year in October our school joins thousands of schools, workplaces and institutions in a nationwide Earthquake Drill. The Big New Zealand Shakeout is a day designed to raise awareness about the very real possibility of dealing with an earthquake and to prepare children and adults to protect themselves. Earthquakes are recorded in New Zealand every day, some of them too small to be felt but some big enough to rattle windows and buildings and they could be scary too.
It was a great opportunity to teach children what to do in the eventuality of an earthquake, to stay calm and to protect themselves. Through song and poetry, through reading and writing, children have learned and practised how to drop safely under their tables, to cover the back of their heads and to hold on to the table legs. They have also practised what to do if they are outside, and have learned to move away from buildings, into open spaces, to drop and to cover their heads turning themselves into little turtles.
