See something, say something: WEGO gears up for Safety Week

This week marks National School Safety Week across the country; for WEGO students, that means promoting safety of all kinds.

By Ja’Nyah Villa, Co-Editor-in-Chief • October 22, 2025

Photo by Ja’Nyah Villa

Students enter the building through Door 1 after Wednesday’s fire drill was cleared.

America’s Safe Schools Week takes place from October 19-25, and this week, West Chicago Community High School (WCCHS) will be joining schools nationwide in recognizing it.

Safe Schools Week was established by the National School Safety Center (NSSC) in 1984 to ensure that all schools are safe, secure, and productive. Its main goal is to encourage students, staff, and community members to actively advocate for school safety. This includes developing programs and creating safety plans in the case of an emergency.

On Oct. 21, an email from Community High School District 94 was sent to parents, students, and staff reminding them of this year’s focus on safety awareness. The message highlighted ways to navigate safety concerns, including the school’s “see something, say something” mantra that encourages students to speak up when they witness a dangerous situation.

This afternoon, students and staff at WCCHS participated in a scheduled fire drill.

“When we have drills, I feel perfectly safe. Even when people have pulled the fire alarm and we didn’t know it was a drill, I never felt threatened because we’ve practiced fire drills so much since we were little kids,” senior Alexa Garcia said.

Senior Magdalena Schave was observed doing homework during the drill, as the alarm interrupted her ninth hour study hall. (Photo by Ja’Nyah Villa)

Last month, WCCHS was placed into lockdown when the BluePoint alarm was accidentally triggered, and while students have participated in numerous safety drills this year, including lockdown and fire drills, some say real-life situations can still feel unpredictable.

“It’s one thing to practice a lockdown, but in an actual situation it feels completely different—you can’t really replicate that,” Garcia said.

In a previous interview, Executive Director of Operations and Safety Dave Pater said the district’s focus is on “getting everybody on the same page as far as what they’re supposed to do in the five standard response protocols that we have.”

Safe Schools Week is an essential part of preparing students for emergencies, and by advocating for school safety, WCCHS continues to promote awareness and preparedness within the school community.

Revision

Oct. 22, 2025

This story has been updated for clarity and style and now includes background information from a prior interview with Executive Director of Operations and Safety Dave Pater.

About the Contributor

Ja’Nyah Villa, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Ja’Nyah Villa is a senior in her fourth year of writing for the Chronicle! She started her journalism career during her freshman year, and her experience built up her credentials. She is one of five co-hosts for the Chronicle’s video news segment “What’s the word Wego?” Additionally, she is the co-editor-in-chief for the paper. Ja’Nyah hopes to pursue a career in book publishing or journalism. She is very driven and dedicated to her schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Outside of Journalism, Ja’Nyah is an active member of Wego Drama and serves on the leadership team as Senior Representative. There, she spends most of her time on stage and has even been part of a state-qualifying play. Aside from theater, Ja’Nyah is passionate about her music classes. She is a 3-year member of Wego’s Honors Acappella Chamber Choir, where she dedicates hours of her time to practice and go to gigs; She is also a member of the concert choir. Ja’Nyah’s hobbies include reading and listening to music. So far, she has read 8 books in 2025, and her favorite book is “Thunderhead,” by Neal Shusterman. She also enjoys listening to music (while she reads and otherwise)! Her top 5 artists on Spotify are Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, BoyWithUke, Conan Gray, and Lizzy McAlpine. Her favorite genres are pop, punk, rock, and musical theater!

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