School Safety at Center Cass 66

In light of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, we want to share with our parents the safety measures we have had in place at Center Cass for several years.

Each year all public schools in Illinois are required to conduct safety drills for tornados, fire, and intruders (lockdown).  Center Cass not only complies with these regulations, but we do above and beyond by holding more drills than required by the State.

We involve local law enforcement in our lockdown drills and the fire department in our fire drills.  Our partnership with local first responders has been instrumental over the years to ensure that we have the best possible procures in place to protect our students and staff.

We also have a Safety Committee that meets to review our Crisis Plan, which outlines procedures for numerous situations including bus accidents, suspicious persons on school grounds, missing children, bomb threats, chemical spills, gas leaks, fallen aircraft, and so on.

Since the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, public schools have changed the way we view school safety.  The world we teach in today is not the same as it was 20-years ago and we are aware on a daily basis of the safety needs for our learners.  It takes a community to ensure safety and we are fortunate to have that community in Center Cass 66!

Choose your passwords wisely!

Here are some tips on creating strong passwords for your work and personal accounts. Microsoft has a site where you can test the strength of your password. If you pay bills on line, bank on line, purchase items on line, etc. checking the strength of the your password(s) can help keep your information private. Check the strength of your password: https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx See below for tips for creating strong passwords from the website: http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2008/06/the-ultimate-guide-for-creating-strong-passwords/ To see the entire article, click the link. I. Two essential password rules: Rule 1 - Password Length: Stick with passwords that are at least 8 characters in length. The more character in the passwords is better, as the time taken to crack the password by an attacker will be longer. 10 characters or longer are better. Rule 2 - Password Complexity: Should contain at least one character from each of the following group. At least 4 characters in your passwords should be each one of the following. Lower case alphabets Upper case alphabets Numbers Special Characters Don't choose a password because it is easy to remember.

Parking Lot Safety on the Lakeview / Prairieview Campus

As the weather continues to get warmer, the outdoor activities are in full swing on the Lakeview / Prairieview Campus. On any given day there are about 200 students on campus from 3-5 pm. Track practices daily in the back Lakeview lot. In an effort to provide our students with a safe area to run the Lakeview lot will be "shut down" on track practice days from 3:10 - 4:30 pm. When the lot is open, please use caution and look for pedestrians at all times. In the next few weeks, the campus will also be experimenting with a new traffic pattern flow. Information will be shared and the pattern observed. Student safety is our number one concern!