01 May 2014
As a school we need to ensure over 500 children move safely from the grounds at the end of the day and I need our community's help to do it.
As an additional safety precaution I have arranged for the gates to the staff car park to be closed from 3:25 to 3:45 for the safety of all students walking across the entry to the car park along the footpath and for those students using the ‘Kiss and Drop' zone on the school side of The Round Drive. These gates will not be opened until all students have been picked up from the ‘Kiss and Drop' zone (approximately 3:45) unless required by an emergency vehicle. I have put an additional teacher on this duty to ensure the safety of children being picked up and we have put signage on either side of the driveway as a reminder to the children to STOP, LOOK and LISTEN before crossing the driveway. The staff car park is only available to staff and to those parents who have authority from me to park due to special circumstances. I really appreciate our community's support with this as we try to make the exit from school a much safer process for everyone and to those parents whose children attend Studio M we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.
The ‘Kiss and Drop' zones are signposted as ‘No Parking' zones. This means that in these zones during school drop off and pick up times (as sign posted) the maximum stopping time is 2 minutes. It is also a requirement that the vehicle not be left unattended and the driver stays within 3 metres of the car. We really appreciate when you pick up your child or children that you move out of the ‘Kiss and Drop' zone as soon as possible so other parents can safely pick up their children.
If you are using the ‘Kiss and drop" – ‘No Parking' section directly across the road from the school please ensure that your child or children walk down to the crossing to cross the road safely. Ian (the crossing supervisor) is down there morning and afternoon to ensure your child gets to and from school safely.
As you know the ‘No Stopping' zone area means that you are not permitted to stop at any time. It is illegal to park across driveways and inhibit the entry or exit of vehicles and to stop in a bus zone to drop off or pick up students.
When meeting children at the bottom gate we request that you move out of the school grounds as soon as you have your children. Children are not allowed on the school equipment without a teacher present and should not be running around the oval unless they are involved in the sports training groups that use the oval for practice some afternoons. In these cases the coach needs to be present to supervise the children.
By following our road rules, travelling slowly (40km or less) around schools during drop off and pick up times and moving quickly and safely from the school grounds at the end of the day we are doing everything we can to make sure our children stay safe.