At 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, Principal John Dodig announced on the loudspeaker to secure the school for a lockdown drill. All around Staples, teachers locked the doors of classrooms and turned off the lights while students took shelter on the ground, completely out of sight from the door and windows of the classroom.

Fortunately, the lockdown drill today went especially well, according to Dodig. The success of the lockdown could be attributed to the fact that a homeroom was held yesterday morning to prepare students and staff for the drill conducted this morning.

“The result of the debriefing is that this was a very successful drill. The common comment was that the building was like it is during the summer with no one here,” Dodig said in an e-mail sent out to all staff.

Lockdown drills are required by the state in order to prepare students and staff for any kind of an emergency situation that may occur. According to The New York Times, “School officials and security experts say that the lockdowns are a modest and sensible effort to guard against the unthinkable, and that they have helped keep students safe, calm and organized during shootings and emergencies.”

Students also had something to say about the drill.

“I think that the lockdown today was really organized,” Shelby Lake ’17 said. “Drills are very helpful because they prepare us well for any emergency.”

Staples High School will continue to perform lockdown drills every year so that staff and students stay informed on how to react to an emergency.