October 5th, 2015

Hold and Secure was lifted today at 12:45 PM. We would like to thank the Waterloo Regional Police for their assistance to ensure that everyone in our community is safe.

What is a Hold and Secure and why was it called?
The police often determine when a school should be in Hold and Secure. It means that students/staff, visitors and parents may not freely enter or leave the building. Entry and exit is very controlled for everyone’s safety. It is usually called when there is potential or imminent danger in our community and it is used to ensure that students are safe inside our schools in order to allow police to do their jobs in the community. During a Hold and Secure, students and staff can feely move throughout the building, but going outside is restricted. For the most part, student learning continues to occur during a Hold and Secure. Students are working in their classrooms and with different staff following their regular schedule. The only difference is that our students do not go outside.

Today’s incident involved a critical injury of a person very close to a number of inner city schools. The suspect was not immediately apprehended, and police needed time and space to ensure that there was no further risk to others in our community. This is why Hold and Secure was called. At 12:45 pm, the Hold and Secure was lifted for King Edward P.S. which allows us to go back to operating normally.

Again, a big thank you to our local police services, and school board officials who were monitoring the situation for us this morning. Thank you to all staff and parents and students for their cooperation and assistance.