On Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, students left halfway through their second period class to evacuate the building due to a bomb threat. Students exited the high school and went to the designated evacuation zone where they awaited further instruction.
After a while, grades were released one by one. They gathered on buses and got safely escorted to another area. From there, students waited to get picked up from that location by parents, or the school bused them home.
“I was confused and worried because I left all my stuff, and then I was kinda happy I got to miss school,” freshman Gracy Patel said.
This event was unexpected as it was a Wednesday morning and nothing major was happening, causing students to be caught off guard by the evacuation. The bomb threat had been called in that morning, and the school evacuated soon after.
“I kinda considered putting some Batman music while it was happing on my headphones, but I thought someone died that day,” freshman Jackson Acton said about his initial thoughts during the evacuation.
Not only did this effect students, but teachers as well. Teachers were heard saying they were confused with what was happening and just as shocked as students. It caused many classes to be set back a day only days a couple weeks before final exams.
Many students were seen without jackets and even only in gym uniforms which is a shirt and shorts. Some were without backpacks, causing them to go without their schoolwork for the day.
“I am infuriated with how cold I was outside. I was messed up for days; none of my homework got done,” sophomore Audra Hagerman said.
Later on in the day, students, parents and teachers were notified on StudentSquare that the threat had been fully investigated and was not a credible threat. This was a relief, and students could go back to school as usual the next day.
Many students left belongings in the building. Once the building was cleared by the school, if students needed to pick up urgent items such as medication and car or house keys, they reported to door 1 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and they could be escorted by staff to get those items back.
All together, students were able to safely exit the building and get home safely, only being a bit shaken up by the experience.