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Kathryn Campbell

Two Excel trucks were called to the scene in front of the Davern entrance of the Randolph Campus to remove the tree and repair the line.

A tree fell into power lines on Davern Street taking out the power just after 11 a.m. Students in the classrooms near Davern heard a loud noise and soon after, the SmartBoards, then lights powered off one by one. Other classrooms farther from the incident, experienced flashing lights. Soon the entire Randolph Campus was left in darkness. All staff and students were notified by teachers that WiFi would be down and would at earliest, be fixed in three hours. Head of School Bryn Roberts sent an email a few minutes after to all St. Paul Academy and Summit School parents, notifying them of the incident and that everyone was safe. He said, “We are now working to determine what the rest of our day will look like.”

During the confusion in between second and third period classes today, junior Jamuna Corsaro said, “I think we should go home, because if they said that it’s going to [be fixed] in three hours, that’s at two, which would be an hour from when school would end anyway. And if no one can get anything done without internet, then that’s a waste of time to be at school. And also, a lot of people are distance as well, […] and there’s teachers who are working from home, so they can’t access the internet or teach the class.”

Dean of Students Chantal Thornberry addressed students in the Schilling hallways as the second block came to an end. Thornberry said, “There is no [distance learning] today. It is a day off, you go home.”

Due to the WiFi and power outage, students and teachers helped relay this message around to everyone. Students with siblings in the upper or middle school were instructed to find them and take them home. Students with sports in the afternoon were told to watch their emails to see if the school reopens at 2 p.m.