Temblor Puts School to the Test : Emergency: Newport Beach pupils score high by quickly ducking low under their desks, as Mother Nature springs a surprise quiz in geology.

The faculty of Mariners Elementary School repeatedly drills its students with lessons in how to cope with the often unpredictable actions of Mother Nature. On Thursday, Mother Nature decided it was time for a pop quiz.

What do you do when the earth shakes, rattles and rolls? The students’ answer: You duck, cover and hold.

The answer was correct.

And what do you do when the earth stops shaking? The students’ answer: Break out the emergency buckets, walk outside in an orderly fashion, sit in the grass and drink water from an emergency supply until further notice.

Another correct response.

Like all other schools in Orange County, Mariners Elementary is required to have students perform periodic earthquake drills to give them a taste of what conditions might be like after a major quake. And while Thursday’s 4.0 quake was not exactly The Big One, it tested whether the students had been paying attention during drills.

The result: They passed with flying colors.

Marilyn Slaughter, the school’s faculty representative for emergency preparedness, said extensive earthquake preparation plans were put into effect immediately after the quake hit at 10:21 a.m. Although there was no damage to the school, she said the temblor provided another lesson to students on why the frequent “duck-and-cover” drills are necessary.

“Every time we go through a drill, we go through the same thing,” Slaughter said. “We just had a drill a week or two ago. Everybody obviously knew what to do.”

When the earthquake struck, the school’s 620 students immediately ducked beneath their desks, covered their heads and held their positions, Slaughter said. The quake lasted only seconds, but, just as in earthquake drills, the students stayed beneath their desks until they finished counting to 100.

The “duck-and-cover” drill yielded the school’s only earthquake-related injury of the day.

“One kid bumped his head (on his desk),” Slaughter said. “We put an ice pack on it. I don’t know whether he was trying to get under the desk or if he bumped his head when he was coming out.”

The school was prepared for far more than just a minor knock on the head, however. Slaughter said that as soon as the earthquake ended, teachers broke out notebooks containing outlines of post-quake procedures.

Following drill procedures to the letter, the school activated its first aid, search-and-rescue and student relief teams.

Teachers led the students out into Mariner Park, part of which serves as a large playground for the school. Some students were assigned to bring out the two “emergency buckets” stored in each classroom. Slaughter said one bucket holds a first-aid kit, the class roll, name tags and a radio, while the other contains tissue, crayons, books “and whatever else the teacher might need when outside.”

Meanwhile, Slaughter and school principal Bruce Crockard manned the school’s Emergency Operating Center--which holds water and more emergency supplies--to make sure all was well.

Taking advantage of the chance to run an impromptu drill, the school went so far as to set up a “sanitation area” with portable toilets and a Red Cross area for potential injuries.

There were no injuries to treat, however, other than the kid who bumped his head, Slaughter said. A sweep of the school revealed no damage.