Call To Action - Operation: Red Flag Dads

We are in Fire Season and have seen the damage caused with fires during these very dry Santa Ana winds. Thurston sits on a vista above Laguna Canyon which places it in a precarious position. The view is awesome and the fire threat is extreme.

We need to develop an emergency team to watch for fires during Red Flag Days.

Estimates are, in extreme conditions, Thurston officials will have 8-10 minutes to evacuate the school. What we want to do is give them the most time possible to implement their well developed emergency plans. Having 8-10 minutes is fine but if it takes 5 minutes to get them the information it becomes 3-5 minutes.

I am looking for dads who have reasonably flexible schedules, work locally or work from their homes that could volunteer for a shift or two on these Red Flag Days which is a condition declared by the Fire Department or the National Weather Service.

I envision dads walking the campus in 1 hour shifts. Basically you would walk from the parking lot to the far side of the soccer field along the Northern fence along the drainage ditch. I walked it today and it is the best view of the area.

So I am asking those that could be available in these situations to email me with your name and cell phone number. The protocol would be telephone and/or text messages. Like every other Strike Team request, you only need reply if you can help. Not everyone can do this but there are many that can.

On a red flag day or series of days you would get a call seeing if you could fill a shift or two on each day.

Let me know so we can put an effective team together to protect our kids.

Call to Action - Operation:Drop Off

We are looking to have Strike Team Members work shifts to help make the morning drop off more efficient and to increase the safety factor. Monday through Thursday has two shifts - zero period 7:15-7:40 and first period 8:15-8:40. Friday has one shift, 8:40-9:15.

Each of the M-Th shifts needs a minimum of THREE dads per shift. FIVE dads per shift would be better. Friday requires a minimum of FOUR dads although SIX would be better. The task is to ensure that traffic moves smoothly and efficiently - make the cars pull all the way forward and get the kids out quickly. Lots of cars go through the lot - we can make it better, safer and faster.

We are looking for dads who can commit to show up on their chosen weekdays to their chosen shifts. Not everyone can make it every week, we understand that but consider it if you can make it 3 out of 4 times. If you can do both shifts on a day, that is great too. In that case, we have access to the Staff Lounge for coffee, reading the paper, watching the news, etc. You could also take advantage of the great hiking & running trails in between shifts if desired. The commitment will run until winter break in December and then we will have a new team in place starting in January.

Additionally, if you happen to be dropping off your student and have time, park and help out - the more the merrier.

Ideally we would have FIVE dads on each of the M-Th shifts - three directing traffic and two opening doors for students - add one more traffic control for Fridays.

So think hard about this volunteer opportunity - it is our first Call to Action and a pretty significant one. Think about which shifts you can commit to filling for the next 2 1/2 months (or so). Think about if you can do it more than once a week. A Tuesday and Thursday First Period commitment would be awesome.

For those interested in signing up for this duty, email me back with your preferences as to periods and weekdays. If you have questions feel free to email or call me. For those of you who cannot commit to this duty, you do not need to respond which is the standard operating procedure of the Strike Team. No guilt, no excuses.