At your camps, do three short whistle blasts mean “assemble now” too, and does anyone know where that standard came from? We run a quick 10:00 a.m. lakeside drill each Tuesday so every cabin recognizes the pattern for emergencies, but I’ve never pinned down the origin and would love the backstory.
I’ve noticed three blasts really gets everyone’s attention during our Tuesday drills too! It’d be cool to find the origin — I’m curious if it came from lifeguard protocols or something similar. Might check out this link: https://www.redcross.org.
Three blasts are definitely effective for drawing attention! When we first implemented ours, we had some kids respond more to variations like a long then short blast as it felt unique. It’d be interesting to see how many other camps have their own twists on this — maybe there’s a chance to share those ideas during a staff meeting.
I agree on the timing part — consistency helps! We found that practicing the whistle patterns at random times really kept everyone on their toes, and it made sure they were alert. Any thoughts on adjusting the timing during drills?