Lock Down Drills

This morning, Capilano Elementary School participated in a lock down drill. This was part of a district wide (North Vancouver School District) lock down drill. In some schools, the RCMP or other emergency responders assisted schools in their drills. Here at Capilano, we took care of the drill ourselves.

I am happy to report that all students were great during our drill. Classes followed proper lock down procedures and could not be heard from the hallways. Thanks to everyone for making this drill a success.

Take care

Traffic Blues

IMG_0331How do your children get to school? Do you drive them here, or do they walk. Do students make use of crosswalks, or are they encouraged to jaywalk?

We have noticed that things are not going so well with some of our drivers. We would like it to change.

Some of the driving is poor. Some of the driving is illegal. I won’t remind people here about driving laws or traffic bylaws. If you have a license, you know them.

 

Some poor driving habits I have seen include:

  • Dropping off in the staff parking lot
  • Parking in the drop off zone
  • Backing up onto 20th Street when children are walking
  • Telling children to cross the road on 20th where there are no crosswalks
  • Stopping in the middleof the road to drop kids off
  • Parking in front of the fire hydrant
  • Parking in front of our neighbours drive way
  • etc.

We can do better. We must do better.

Please do your part:

  • If you must drive to school, stop 5 minutes from the school and walk your children in.
  • Use other school entrances. Try dropping off on 21st.
  • Buddy up your child with an older student and have them walk in together.
  • Be mindful and slow down.

If you see the R.C.M.P. around our school, please be aware that they are here to help us keep everyone safe. I called them. I asked for assistance.

Most drivers are doing an excellent job. Thank you. We appreciate it.

For those who could do better, we look forward to seeing better driving practices in the days ahead.

We now have some grade 7 students who have volunteered to help us out. Please be respectful to them as they are helping us keep students safe.

Thanks and take care

 

Something Missing

Hey parents, did you notice something missing from the school zone this morning?

Cleveland’s legendary “Cone Zone” and our crossing guard were intentionally absent to highlight the need for parent supervisors for our safety patrol. Without this team of volunteers, we will have more days where the cones and safety patrol are not providing a safe route to school.

With darker, rainier mornings on their way, it’s important that we keep our children safe in the school zone.

Helping is easy; it’s only 25 minutes of your time, morning or afternoon, once a week. Please email safetypatrol@clevelandpac.com to volunteer yourself and/or your child in grade 5, 6 or 7. Training will be provided.

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The above note is from our Safety Patrol. Please be safe on our roads.

Take care

Kindergarten Students At Play

This morning I spent time outside with our incoming Kindergarten students.This was the third play date, and the children looked like they were having fun.

The play dates are one of the many wonderful ways our parents work together to build our Cleveland community. Thanks to Mel and other the kindergarten parents, students have a chance to come in to school knowing a few more of their classmates.

I received a link to a very good video that new families might like to view. It is from AnxietyBC and the UBC Anxiety Projects Lab. The video, Easy Separation, is worth sharing. The AnxietyBC web site is worth a visit too.

We look forward to seeing students and their families next week. In the event the strike continues, we will wait patiently for the first day, whenever it may be.

Take care

Back To Work

IMG_9972This week I am back in the office, working with Jill and Cecile (our office staff), Julius (our custodian) and Leslie (our Vice Principal), to get ready for the start of the school year.

There is a new floor in the lower hallway, the courtyard garden continues to grow, the grass is cut and the school is clean. Thanks to all the staff over the summer for helping get our school ready for everyone.

We don’t know what will happen next week. We are working with the assumption (hope) that a settlement is reached this weekend in the current labour strife in British Columbia. We would love to hear the joyful noises that come when students enter the building on the first day of a new school year.

For our Cleveland parents, we will be sending home information to families (via email) outlining our start up procedures for September 2nd. If the strike continues, we will send out updated information on how we will be starting our school year.

Please visit the North Vancouver School District web site for any updates related to the ongoing labour dispute.

Take care