Ms. Bass Takes a Creative Spin on Window Safety Regulation
“If anybody wants one, I’m happy to make them,” Social Studies teacher Suzanne Bass informs as is willing to offer one to any teacher that requests one from her. During Thanksgiving break, Bass made seven fabric window covers, one for herself and six extra to pass out, and handed them to the teachers around her once she returned.
Safety is a top priority for most schools, and Kempsville High School is no different. On November 19, 2019, teachers were sent an email instructing them to cover the windows on the doors of their classrooms during lockdown drills to prevent any threat from being able to look inside classrooms through the windows on their doors. It also included examples of how they could go about covering their windows.
While most teachers have resorted to taping pieces of colored paper on the windows and moving on, one teacher has taken a different approach to covering the windows on their classroom doors.
Among some of the examples that the administration encouraged, there were roll-up cloth covers that one teacher felt would be fairly easy to recreate. World Studies II and Geography teacher Suzanne Bass decided to use her sewing skills to make simple window covers for teachers who were interested in having them for their doors.
“When they sent the examples, mind you, they were professional looking, I was just like ‘I have fabric, I can do that.’ And so, I sent it home one evening and, on a whim, went to my cabinet, sought out what fabric [I] had, and guess[ed] at the size of the window, and just tr[ied] and create[d] a window covering,” Bass said.
As soon as she found the materials she needed, she sat down and got to work, making the first one for herself before proceeding to make six more and hand them out to the handful of teachers in rooms nearby.
Fabric window covers are being offered as an alternative to paper coverings to the teachers of Kempsville. The idea was shared with teachers from administration through email as a way to encourage teachers to cover their windows to increase safety and promote covering the windows during lockdown drills.
Although not perfect, Bass is happy to make the covers and give them to other teachers. However, Bass isn’t the only person who is excited about the new change. Students and teachers alike have taken a liking to the new window covers.
“I think that’s a really foot-forward move of her because she’s trying to do what she can to make sure the students and faculty can stay safe in this building and feel safe in this building, too,” said junior Pandora George.
“The fabric door cover is much better because it obscures the shadows in the room. So, if I have a student that is in the process of moving over towards the right-hand side of the classroom, their shadow would not be reflected if it would be on the paper, which would indicate there’s somebody in the room,” Primary French teacher Ada Morley added as she explained why the window covers were more effective than the paper most teachers, including herself, use to cover the window.
Overall, the window covers have received a positive response from both students and teachers.
Bass was happy to help and share the handmade curtains with other teachers. She hints that there is a possibility that more are to come soon, as she is considering making some over winter break to continue handing them out to teachers.
Mylynn Hopper is a senior here at Kempsville High School. She is also a member of the Spanish Honor Society. She enjoys creative writing and photography.
