March 19, 2008
“Once I might have wished for that: never to grow old. But now I know that to stay young always is also not to change. And that is what life’s all about- changes going on every minute, and you never know when something begins where it’s going to take you.
_A Gathering of Days, Joan W. Blos, 1979
Top of the Morning to you all.
Just came from the most wonderful assembly here at North Beach. We had the leprechaun luck of having the Claddagh Irish Dancers from Dublin join us on our stage today and Irish Dance for the whole school. It was such a great experience for everyone.
I know our parking and drop off areas are small and inconvenient, however,
SAFETY COMES FIRST and many reports of unsafe practices need to be brought to your attention. The most important safety guideline concerns driving while picking up and dropping off your child. Many families who are following the procedures of dropping off and picking up students out front are very frustrated with those of you who are not.
To refresh your memory: if you are picking up your child, please stay in your car. Drop them off and head north. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE A U TURN IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL. PLEASE DO NOT PULL IN THE DROP OFF AREA THE WRONG WAY. When you are picking up the student, please follow the same procedures as above. This area is meant for parents for quick drop off and pick up and when you park and go pick up your child it makes it hard for this to happen.
In the morning if you are dropping off, it is okay to drop your child off at the very east part of the bus-loading zone. Again, you may NEVER park there and if there is a bus coming and you are blocking the way, you must leave immediately. However, it does provide a spot to let your child off and they can walk down the stairs and directly to the playground.
The second safety matter that has been brought to my attention is the time after school when families are outside with their students playing. We are asking that you continue to practice the same safety rules we have during school. Many students forget and then have to pay the consequences for not following the safety rules while at school. For example, we ask that the children never go on the hill or play in the sand and to go down the slide not up. The slide area back by the basketball hoops needs to be re-shoveled as much of the sand has landed up on the concrete. Then of course the sand follows the students into the bathroom and down into the drains. We have been having trouble with the drains because of the sand. With the erosion already taking place there, we ask that you keep the kids off of the hill.
One more request from the little tree out front whose branches are drooping low. “Please do not climb in or hang on me, I am not strong enough to hold you.”
Last but not least, we need your help to keep the pesky little animals that don’t seem to want to go away, away! If your child has had lice, please treat them before you send them back to school, send us a note or call and we will check the whole class. Lice is inevitable, it has been in every school I have ever been in. The best thing you can do as a parent is to comb the hair with the comb every morning and night. Of course wash everything, spray everything and be diligent. Eggs can rehatch in 2 weeks if they haven’t been combed out. I have found that being pro-active is the best way to keep from having lice reoccur or even happen. We do everything we can here at school but it is impossible for us to keep heads from touching each other occasionally. I would love to offer head checks everyday but we have limited staffing. Our nurse is only here once a week and Cheryl and I do get busy.
Happy Spring
Joanne Bowers
Principal