Safety around Torbay School

 

 

Our school is very large and on a very busy road! We would like everyone to be safe in and around the school. Please read the following information to keep everyone safe.

GATES
We have three gate entrances into our school (see map). These have been provided by the Ministry of Education and will be shut when the school crossing monitors come in each morning. Parents, please keep the gates shut during school hours (8.55am to 3pm). If you are dropping your child late to school (i.e. after the bell at 8.55am) please walk them into the grounds as they may have difficulty opening them themselves.

If your child is late to school, students need to go to the office to notify them that they are late.

PICK UP AND DROP OFF ZONE
The pick up and drop off zone is for parents and caregivers to use. Please do not leave your car. This is for a quick stop, parking on the left hand side only. Do not park on the yellow line as this endangers the children by crossing in between cars. At the end of the pick up and drop of zone you can only turn left. NO RIGHT TURN

There is no car park available for parents to use before and after school. We encourage you to park along the road away from the school and walk with your child to and from school. Alternatively arrange to meet your child at a point away from the school to avoid congestion.

BICYCLES / SCOOTERS
Year 6 children are permitted to ride a bicycle/scooter and Year 5’s can ride their scooters to school unaccompanied (providing they have completed the necessary training) – first they must fill in a form from the office to give to the Principal, signed by their parents, requesting permission to do so. They must follow all safety rules, wear shoes, a helmet and should bring a padlock to secure it in the appropriate place. They will be provided with a school licence showing they are able to bring them to school.

BEFORE SCHOOL
All students who come to school prior to 8.30am are asked to sit outside rooms 1-6. No students to be playing on the playground as there is no supervision prior to 8.30am. Please use ‘Fun Club’ if your child needs to be at school prior to 8.15am. http://afterschoolfunclub.co.nz/

AFTER SCHOOL
Please make sure your child/ren know how they are getting home. Year 1 students have to be collected from the classroom. Older children can walk home, get collected at various points or catch a bus home. No students are allowed to play on the playground unsupervised. If you are picking up your child later than 3:15, please use ‘Fun Club’ http://afterschoolfunclub.co.nz/

SCHOOL CROSSINGS
There are two crossings. Deep Creek Road and Alexander Ave. Trained Year 6 students and a parent or teacher support people across the crossings between 8.30 and 9.00am. In the afternoon from 3.00pm – 3.15pm. Please be a good role model by using the crossing and not to cross the road at other areas.

GENERAL SAFETY
We encourage you to talk to your children about keeping themselves safe and, in this context, to walk to and from school in pairs or groups. If you normally meet your child and find that for some reason you cannot do so, please do not hesitate to ring the school office as soon as possible so that alternative arrangements can be communicated to your child. You should also stress that, if by any chance your child is left waiting at the gate after 3.15pm (or when the crossing patrols finish), your child should go to the office and stay there until arrangements have been made. If your child does not arrive at home at the expected time, once again please contact the school and every assistance will be given to locate them.

If you need to collect your child during the day, come to the office to sign out your child/ren before collecting from classroom.

The Walking School Bus
A walking school bus is just like a school bus except children walk to and from school under the supervision of adult volunteers (often parents), who act as the walking school bus driver.
Children are collected from stops along a planned route and dropped off at the school gate. Along the way they learn how to safely negotiate the road as well as socialise with friends and neighbours, improve fitness and arrive energised at school ready to learn.
Don’t live by one a route? You could always drive to the starting point of one and the kids could ‘Park and Ride’.

The kids earn rewards as they get their ticket clipped each time they walk, as well as having extra events just for them such as ‘Milo Mornings’ and a ‘Pizza & Pool Party’.

All we ask is that you give up one morning to drive, or help drive the bus to school. We understand that this may be tricky so we will try to work with you to find a way to make it work. This may be that you only go part way to school and another driver takes over, or perhaps your route has someone that can do multiple days so they can cover yours (for a coffee perhaps).

We had a Milo and Coffee morning today – Which was a special ‘Thanks’ from the Walking school bus organizers for a job well done!  Below is a pic collage from this morning’s event:

We want to get as many students as we can walking to school, it’s not only good for them, but also means less traffic around our school gates making it safer.

An information flyer can be collected from the school office, or email wsb.torbay@gmail.com