Thank You Safety Patrol

Our Student Safety Patrol Team continues to be very active in helping to ensure that our students remain safe during the morning and afternoon rush hour around Cleveland School. We have a team of approximately 60 students and many parent volunteers who arrive early (8:00 am) to keep us safe. Like the proverbial postman, neither rain nor sleet nor slush nor snow will stop them from doing their duty. I have even seen them spreading salt out so people will not slip in the crosswalk.

Their job is to assist students and families (and sometimes their dogs) in crossing the streets in a safe and orderly fashion. They take their job quite seriously.

The Student Safety Patrol Team would like help from our parents and the parent drivers. When driving around a school zone, please:

  • Slow Down – 30 km per hour is the maximum speed. Please respect the speed limit all along Eldon Road and down Ruby Avenue.
  • Use the Crosswalks – There are two crosswalks on Eldon. Please be a positive role model for our students and make use of the crosswalks.
  • Wait – When you are walking and get to the crosswalk in front of the school, please wait for the Safety Patrol Team members to stop traffic and motion that it is clear for you to proceed.
  • Be Alert – We have many young children who sometimes do not notice traffic the way adults might. Please proceed cautiously when driving around a school, and be prepared to stop when a Safety Patrol Team member holds up their STOP sign.
  • Be Patient – With over 340 families, sometimes it can take a bit of time to drive past Cleveland at the end of the day. Please demonstrate patience and understanding.
  • Walk to School – If you live too far away to walk from your home, try parking a kilometer from the school and walk in with your children. Join the team for Walking Wednesdays.

Traffic Safety

Some facts from “Safe Crossings: Guidelines for School Crossing Programs” (2001), Ministry of Transportation and Highways, Province of British Columbia.

  • Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death and serious injury for young children
  • In British Columbia, 20 percent of all pedestrian accidents involve children under 15 years of age
  • About 60 percent of pedestrian accidents involving children under 15 years of age occurred during the morning, noon and afternoon peak hours.

“The challenge of traffic safety education for our children is greater today than ever. This challenge requires concerted action by parents, teachers, police officers, the municipal and/or provincial road authority and the community working together to keep our children safe.” Safe Crossings (2001)

Cleveland is fortunate to have a group of parents who are actively working with the District of North Vancouver and the North Vancouver School District to explore ways to help ensure the safety and well being of our students as they travel to and from school.

ICBC has some tips for parents and drivers, and I found this list on the Vancouver School Board web site – ICBC tips safety tips for parents and drivers.

Tomorrow we are introducing Walking Wednesdays. You should have read about it in last Friday’s newsletter. Please join them and show your support for walking to school.

Let’s all do our part to keep our children safe.

Take care.

Junk Food and Schools

A recent article on the Huffington Post Education Canada web site focused on schools selling junk food to children – Junk Food Widely Available at Elementary Schools, Study Shows. The article has a U.S. focus, but many might ask about food sales at Cleveland.

In recent years, the British Columbia Ministry of Education has introduced guidelines for selling food in schools – Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools. This document is to be used by schools, PACs and others to ensure that we sell nutritionally sound products to children.

We have recently removed the vending machine from the school? Did you know we had one? It sold items that were within the guidelines, but we elected to remove it. It is my opinion that we do not need a vending machine, and if children want drinks, they can bring healthy choices from home.

Do all our food sales meet these guidelines? I believe so, but I could be wrong. Our Cleveland PAC works with these guidelines when finding suppliers for our food day sales. Before planning food sales for next year, we will need to review the items we sold this year to ensure everything meets the standards for public schools. This should be a regular part of our yearly review process.

About our food days – please remind your children to show appreciation to all the volunteers who make sure these food days are so well organized. They come early every food day, get the many food orders organized by division, and then have the food ready to be in class by noon. It is very important that we teach (and reteach) good manners, and model them for children to see at all times. We have great parent volunteers who provide us a lot of direct support to make sure each child gets what he or she ordered.

The Fruit and Vegetable Program

Thanks to parent volunteers, we are participating this year in the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Program. This program exposes children to a variety of fruits or vegetables by delivering healthy snacks to schools 13 times a year. Parent volunteers then sort out the snacks, and deliver them to classes. We recently had anjou pears, and I believe we have ambrosia apples coming soon.

Food Allergies

Food allergies also need to be taken into consideration when dealing with food in schools. We have children (and staff) who are highly allergic to certain food items (tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, shell fish, etc.) and we need to ensure that the school remains safe for them. More recently, we seem to have a rise in the number of children who suffer from allergic reactions to other food items (i.e. gluten, soy). We need to work with our families to help us better understand these issues, and to put in place appropriate policies for food in schools. This will be an ongoing project.

How can parents help?

  • If your child has a food allergy, please provide detailed information to the classroom teacher and the office. Make a plan with the classroom teacher about how to handle food issues at school, and include your child in the planning. Children as young as Kindergarten can learn to advocate for themselves.
  • If you are sending treats for a birthday to school, please ensure that the treats are appropriate for a school setting. Any food should be presented to the classroom teacher first.
  • If you are unsure about allergies in the class, please contact your child’s teacher prior to sending food in. While they cannot let you know who has the food allergy, they can let you know what types of food are safe.
  • Educate your child about how he or she can help classmates by choosing safe food for their school lunches. Eating a peanut butter sandwich is something they can do at home.

I will be posting more specific information about food allergies soon.

Take care.