Director's Wave | Volume 5 Edition 13

Dear CIS Community,

The month of December is here. This month tends to captivate many people due to the festive season regardless of one’s beliefs and traditions. December also happens to be a good time to be mindful of health and safety, in addition to fun, food and festivities.

Health - Seasonal Ills, Rest, Nutrition and Exercise

December can signal the arrival of flu season or at least coughs, sniffles, sore throats and stomach ailments. As a reminder, the following items are suggested from our health office; wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub, avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, get plenty of sleep and exercise, and eat healthily, and cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (or cough or sneeze into your elbow). If one happens to be sick with a flu-like illness, please stay home for at least twenty-four hours after your fever subsides. We appreciate the community’s cooperation when it comes to health.

Health - Rest, Nutrition and Exercise

It is unequivocal that proper rest, appropriate nutrition and regular exercise help us learn and contribute positively to physical and social/emotional health. The above can be easier said than done. Nonetheless, please do all you can to ensure your child is well rested, eats well and engages in movement. This can be especially challenging as the festive season tends to involve social events. The above, of course, is good advice for us as adults too - naturally may be even more easily said than done.

Safety - Hurricane Season

December marks the notional end of hurricane season in our part of the world. Indeed, the wonderful “winter” breezes are here. Two days ago on walking home at night from school I legitimately saw people wearing parkas. Indeed, when the temperature drops to 77 F / 24 C it does feel chilly. In the event that there is an out of season hurricane, please note that CIS follows recommendations and announcements made by the Governor, the National Hazard Management Council, and the Ministry of Education in the event that schools are to be closed due to tropical storm warnings and potential developments of hurricane conditions. 

Safety - Roads, Parking and Traffic

Roads and Parking Lot - In 2023 the RCIPS attended to 3,197 motor vehicle accidents an average of about 61 motor vehicle accidents per week). There are more cars in the Cayman Islands than people. The high season of tourism also means more vehicles on the road, including some people not familiar with driving on the left side of the road. Please drive with care, watch for people and be patient with fellow drivers, especially around the school. Our security team and others are visible in the parking area to assist with the safe flow of cars and people, yet ultimately we count on you to drive with care and courtesy.

• On and around campus there are Accessible Parking Spaces, Expectant Mother Parking Spaces, Taxi and Visitor Parking Spaces. The spaces are not to be used by people without accessibility issues, who are not expecting and who are not visitors to the school.
• Please drive with care, watch for pedestrians and be patient with fellow drivers.
• The speed limit within and around our campus is 15 mph 24 km/h.
• Please heed the 3-way stops entering the school.

Safety - Drills

The following is a reminder from our August welcome letters. Safety is vital for schools. All CIS faculty and staff engage in emergency procedure training and review. E are also certified in CPR and first aid. Schools in the Cayman Islands are required to conduct safety drills on a regular basis, in fact schools are required to conduct a minimum of 10 fire drills per school year, in addition to other drills such as earthquake and lockdown drills. Our first drills each school year are done during inservice days with staff only. Subsequent drills happen with students. These happen on a rotation of fire drills, earthquake and tsunami drills and lockdown drills.

• Earthquake and Tsunami Drills - Initial earthquake drills do not include a tsunami component. Subsequent earthquake drills include a tsunami warning component which involves all people on campus moving to designated second and third story areas on campus.
• Lockdown Drills - Two types of lockdown drills happen at schools. Lockdown 1 refers to practice if there is a dangerous situation near the school but off campus. Lockdown 2 refers to practice if there is a dangerous situation on school grounds.
  • In 3,395 there were crimes recorded in the Cayman Islands. Forty-One of these were designated as crimes of serious violence. Referrals related to domestic violence referrals and child safeguarding increased in 2023.
• Fire Drills - Over the course of the school year the complexity of fire drills tend to increase. For example, early in the school year fire drills happen during more predictable times such as when all students are in class. Later in the school year, practice can happen during lunches or other transition times.

Early in the school year, the school calmly announces the purpose of the drill, prior to the start of a drill. As noted above, as the school year progresses drills tend to be conducted in more complex scenarios and less preamble before the drill to ensure the school is prepared as best as possible in the event of an emergency. After each drill the school's Crisis Management Team (CMT) meets in order to look for ways to further enhance the safety of our students and staff should the rare occasion arise that a live emergency situation happens.

Whatever your plans may be in the coming weeks, may you enjoy the festivities of the season, whilst being alert and mindful of personal and community health and safety. If you are looking to enjoy some musical and artistic stylings of our students - December is the performance,  concert and musical season too. This all started last night with the musical stylings of our choirs and this morning with the joys of the Early Childhood Winter Concert.

Whatever you may be doing this month - may it be joyous and may your say, “wasn’t tomorrow wonderful.”

Sincerely,

Jim Urquhart
Director - Cayman International School