We’re not in classes right now, Toto

Safety of staff and students is a top priority, and it’s shown through the recurring drills that the school is legally required to conduct every year. In doing one tornado drill per semester, it’s to help to ensure each student is equipped with the necessary knowledge of what to do in case of an actual emergency that’s a threat to their safety.

Kaden Moore, Psychology and Word Civilization teacher, agrees with that statement.

“I think ‘Safety First’ is the big thing at Papio South,” Moore said. “I think that the more you’re prepared for these types of situations, the more lives that get saved and the better off you all are as a community. I think it’s imperative that we’re prepared for such occasions.”

On Feb. 24 at around 11 in the morning, head principal Jeff Spilker announced over the intercom that a tornado drill would be held and that staff and students should head to their designated area quickly as if there was an actual weather emergency. Once the alarm went off, the halls were instantaneously filled with students on their way to where they were supposed to be with mixed and diverse expressions.

Most students had little to no seriousness about the drill, and that helped to alleviate what some might think to be a boring drill and to others what might be a stress inducing event. The halls were filled with a lot of chatter and even fake sounds of tornado sirens.

Cameron Baker, 11th, expressed mixed emotions about the drill and how students treated it.

“I honestly don’t think anyone takes it seriously, and just do nothing waiting for a tornado to hit,” Baker said.

In the drill, students were directed to line the sides of the 10-foot-wide hallways in the interior section of the first floor, not leaving much wiggle room for students, but nonetheless, giving an insight on what it would look like should an actual weather emergency arise.