Students in Years 3 and 4 participated in a disaster resilience education program run by Australian Red Cross, called the Pillowcase Program.

Designed to help children prepare for, cope with and respond to an emergency, the workshop included a discussion about the importance of being prepared, as well as interactive activities to help students prepare their minds for an emergency and consider what to pack in an emergency kit. Each student was given a pillowcase to decorate and take home, to start their own personal emergency kit.

Whether your child participated in the program or not, Red Cross would encourage all of us to get prepared for the emergencies that life throws at us. They have also stressed how important it is to not only make an emergency plan but to discuss and practise that plan with children. 

Getting your household prepared:

Red Cross have provided a checklist of actions to prepare our households and children for emergencies. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to complete these as a household. 

• All the children in our house know what an emergency is (a serious, dangerous and scary situation where help might be needed)
• All the children in our house know how to stay calm by ‘breathing with colour’ (slowly breathing in their favourite colour and then slowly exhaling their least favourite colour to regulate their breathing)
• All the children in our house know how and when to call for help (For guidance visit triplezero.gov.au)
• We have a safe meeting place outside our house and have practised how to get there
• We know who to call if we can’t find each other
• We have an emergency kit packed ready to go if we have to leave our house quickly.

For further guidance or to create a household emergency plan you can download Australian Red Cross’ Get Prepared app or visit  redcross.org.au/prepare.