Although we’re a thousand miles away from Minneapolis, the tragic events at Annunciation Catholic School are being felt here at St. Andrew Catholic School.
“Honestly, like I can't live with fear every single day,” said St. Andrew Catholic School Senior Caeden Olmes. “It's just, I can't live my life like that.”
St. Andrew has protocols and measures in place to keep their 253 students and 40 staff members safe.
Cameras cover all entrances, and there is protective grating over windows. Staff go through active shooter training, and have tools in classrooms to help keep students safe.
“Every year, we do active shooter training within our first weeks," said teacher and librarian Sofia Fray. “We just actually completed it last week before school started, so we're definitely prepared. That's just part of teaching and the job, you do have to think what would I do in that situation, how do I protect my kids, how do I protect my classroom.”
The school is keeping Minneapolis and those affected by Wednesday morning’s tragedy in their hearts.
“We will carry the school and its community in our prayers,” said head of school Doug Tooke. “But we are also taking a much more proactive approach to making sure that we understand that these threats are very real.”
All the safety precautions the school takes do have an impact on students and their sense of safety.
“So I feel really safe here,” said Caeden Olmes. "I have much faith in our teachers, I mean, they care about us so much that they would do anything for us, especially in a situation like that.”
Federal law enforcement agencies strongly encourage all parents to speak with their children about what to do during a school shooting. More information on resources available to families can be found here.
