Tag: safety

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Week a-a-a-a-choooo 35!

Do you feel like you’re looking through green colored glasses?  Are your eyes itchy and your nose sneezy?  If so, you are suffering from spring allergies…and it is a miserable season.  Many of our students (your kids) have watery eyes, headaches, and all the other symptoms that go along with intense allergen exposure.  ACHOO is heard in every classroom!

Highlights of the week ahead are show below.  We open with 5th grade safety White Caps Game and wrap up with our school carnival.  The carnival is sponsored by our PTC and it is a great time for families to play games, eat candy corn and socialize together.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend weather!

Mrs. Reagan

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School Safety Procedures

The safety and security of your children while they are at school is a top priority for me and the entire staff.  We have a number of procedures in place that help ensure that the classrooms, hallways and playground are safe at all times.
I have had parents ask me to outline the procedures with varies questions including our policies about the parent pick-up waiting area and the sign-in/sign out system.
I would like to make sure that you are familiar with all of these procedures and help you to also understand the purpose behind each procedure. These include:

  • Locked Doors: All doors are locked throughout the school day with the exception of the front door.   Students and staff are instructed to NOT ADMIT visitors who knock on doors.  If you visit the building, you must enter through the front door.
  • Drill Practices:   Lockdown (safe place within each room to protect ourselves from an intruder in the building, Fire Drill, Tornado Drill, Evacuation Drill (move to an alternative location in the event that our building becomes unsafe due to a fire, etc.)
  • Visitor sign-in/name badge: When visitors enter the building, they are required to sign in and apply a bright green name badge.  If staff notice a visitor without a badge, this person is greeted and asked to return to the front of the building to sign-in and retrieve a name badge.
  • Background checks: These forms are required for all parents and family members who volunteer and participate in field trips.
  • Waiting area for student pick-up:  We ask that all parents wait in the front lobby for student pick-up.  This eliminates congestion in the hallways.   If you bring a lunch for your child to school, we ask that you also wait in the front lobby.   The hallways are very congested and busy when the children are coming in from recess and preparing to walk to the lunchroom.
  • Playground Area for Students and Staff Only: This policy is in place to help staff monitor student playground activity during the short time they are on the playground.  All staff are 2-wayed enabling them to notify the office immediately if a child is hurt or a dangerous situation occurs.

We ask that parents and family members stay off the playground during the school day.  If you arrive for an early child pick up, go to the office and check in.  The secretaries will 2-way the staff supervising the playground.  Your child will be located and sent inside for pick up.

If you drop your child off before school, please send them to the playground. Please do not go onto the playground. Staff are required to approach all non-staff members and ask them to leave the playground.  This is a procedure that I have asked all staff to make a priority.

NOTE:  Exceptions to this policy are made for Field Day events and other special activities that are cleared by me, the building principal.  Teachers know to check with me if there is an event that would require parent support on the playground.

Thank you for your support of this policy and all those above.  We want you children to be safe and secure while at school!

Mrs. Reagan

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School Safety/Security Procedures

securityThe safety and security of your children while they are at school is a top priority for me and the entire staff.  We have a number of procedures in place that help ensure that the classrooms, hallways and playground are safe at all times.
I have had parents ask me to outline the procedures with varies questions including our policies about the parent pick-up waiting area and the sign-in/sign out system.
I would like to make sure that you are familiar with all of these procedures and help you to also understand the purpose behind each procedure.

These procedures include:

Locked Doors: All doors are locked throughout the school day with the exception of the front door.   Students and staff are instructed to NOT ADMIT visitors who knock on doors.  If you visit the building, you must enter through the front door.

Visitor sign-in/name badge: When visitors enter the building, they are required to sign in and apply a bright green name badge.  If staff notice a visitor without a badge, this person is greeted and asked to return to the front of the building to sign-in and retrieve a name badge.

Background checks: These are required for all parents and family members who volunteer and participate in field trips.

Waiting area for student pick-up: We ask that all parents wait in the front lobby for student pick-up.  This eliminates congestion in the hallways.   If you bring a lunch for your child to school, we ask that you also wait in the front lobby.   The hallways are very congested and busy when the children are coming in from recess and preparing to walk to the lunchroom.

Playground Area for Students and Staff Only: This policy is in place to help staff monitor student playground activity during the short time they are on the playground.  All staff are 2-wayed enabling them to notify the office immediately if a child is hurt or a dangerous situation occurs.

We ask that parents and family members stay off the playground during the school day.  If you arrive for an early child pick up, go to the office and check in.  The secretaries will 2-way the staff supervising the playground.  Your child will be located and sent inside for pick up.

If you drop your child off before school, please send them to the playground. Please do not go onto the playground. Staff are required to approach all non-staff members and ask them to leave the playground.  This is a procedure that I have asked all staff to make a priority.

NOTE:  Exceptions to this policy are made for Field Day events and other special activities that are cleared by me, the building principal.  Teachers know to check with me if there is an event that would require parent support on the playground.

Thank you for your support of this policy and all those above.  We want you children to be safe and secure while at school!

Mrs. Reagan

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The Week Ahead, 9•7•2010

be niceOur first week of school for the 2010-11 school year begins on Tuesday, September 7. We are excited to welcome everyone back to Georgetown…and very excited to welcome new faces!  In addition to our new pre-k students (20) and our new kindergarten students (80), we also have new students joining us in grades 1-5 (20).

A few reminders to parents about routines …and patience!

Our crossing guard is stationed at the driveway from 8:25-8:50. If your child rides or walks to school, please make sure that they do not leave to early.  We want them to cross the busy driveway entrance with the crossing guard present.  Our crossing guard is Mrs. VandenHoek.  She is outstanding at this job!

School begins at 8:50.  The first bell rings at 8:45, and this is the bell which signals the children to line up.

Breakfast is being served from 8:30 to 9:00 am. If your child is eating breakfast, remind them to go to the 2/3 entrance and ask the recess supervisor to open the door for them.  The children simply line up by the 2/3 door as soon as they get off the bus.  Car riders may enter through the front door and go directly to the MPR. Students will be allowed entrance to the MPR at 8:30 am—no earlier.  Mrs. Stacey, our breakfast supervisor, must have time for set up.

Bus Delays the first week: Be patient while the bus drivers learn all the new stops and also carefully negotiate the streets as drivers are getting used to stopping and slowing for busses.  The bus will likely be late picking your child up and dropping your child off.  As the drivers become used to the runs and as students become more comfortable with their bus stops, the runs will become more efficient and timely.  REMEMBER…our bus drivers put safety first at all times…and we appreciate this tremendously.

CHANGES IN GOING HOME PROCEDURES: Each school day, we are helping 590 children exit the building to the correct bus or to parents who are waiting for pick up in the front lobby or to Eagle’s Nest after school care.  In addition, we have students who bike or walk to school.  We take great care in making sure that each child is taken care of each day.  PLEASE send a note to your teacher if you change the going home routine in anyway at all. If we do not have a note, we will follow the planned routine.

  • ALSO:  WE CANNOT TAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE GOING HOME ARRANGEMENTS AFTER 3 PM.
  • ALL CHANGES MUST BE DONE WITH A NOTE TO THE TEACHER OR A CALL TO THE OFFICE.  AGAIN, NO CHANGES CAN BE MADE AFTER 3 PM.

Why do we have this time limit?  The office is extremely busy between 3 pm and 3:40 pm.  There are times in which we cannot answer the phones due to traffic in the office as well as multiple calls coming in to the office.  Also, students are on the playground for recess and it is difficult to reach teachers to make them aware of changes in “going home” the last 40 minutes of the day.

Thank you for you help…and please be patient as we take extra time to safely get your children from school to home.

Here’s to a great week ahead!

Mrs. Reagan

Week ahead 972010

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Introducing our Bus Drivers!

I created a special video to help you learn each of our bus driver’s names.  They are incredible people who transport our students (your children) to and from school each day.  So often they take the time to match students with missing items, bandage boo boo’s, settle disputes over seat selections, and calm down worried children.

I can’t say enough about all that they do for us and the way in which they get our children safely to and from school each and every day.  This video also includes photos of the PK/K bus safety training that Gloria Dekkinga and Mary Wind ran for us this past week.  What a great team they make–and what great safety lessons they provided for our youngest and most precious cargo!

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Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung and there have been lots of questions about things with wheels and what is allowed on the playground, etc.  Please support us with the following procedures regarding “things with wheels!”

Students are allowed (with parent permission) to bike, skateboard or ripstick it to school.  Bikes are parked at the rack and students walk to playgrounds.  Skateboards and ripsticks can be used UP TO the playground entrance and then MUST BE CARRIED onto the playground —as well as all sidewalks on the play ground/bus loop area.  NO USE (including TRICKS) with these at school will be allowed….even while waiting for the bus.

Ripsticks/skateboards are stored inside lockers.   Thank you for your support!  Safety is our focus.

Let me know if you have questions!  Mrs. Reagan