Dear Parents / Guardians,
As the weather changes, often so do some of our routines. We are all very A reminder to always choose safety over convenience when dropping off and picking up your child(ren). Here are some safety messages to keep in mind.
- School Safety
Traffic safety:
Varsity Drive can be a very congested, high traffic and unpredictable space. Our patrollers have started monitoring the two crosswalks nearest our school on Varsity Drive NW this past week. This will continue throughout the school year to provide a safe space for students and their parents/guardians to cross. We ask parents to use these crosswalks with their children and avoid jaywalking to help ensure safety for all. We also ask that when using the hug and go along Varsity drive that you ensure that you are following the rules of the road such as parking with both wheels near the curb as to not block traffic, avoiding any U-turns, and not using the staff parking lot for pick-up and drop-off. If we all choose safety over convenience, we will help ensure a safe environment and experience for everyone and maintain the flow of traffic.
Before and After School Safety:
To support student safety as they enter the building during soft entry (8:55am to 9:10am), we have supervisors at both the East and West Doors. Please note that we do not provide supervision outdoors at this time in any other spaces other than the entryways. Please speak to your child(ren) about ensuring that they come immediately to the doors and enter the building when they arrive at school, and make their way into class for a safe, and calm start to the day. With the weather getting colder, students will notice that the doors are no longer propped open and they should try opening the door at this time. If the doors are locked (after 9:10am), then they should make their way to the Main West Doors to ring the buzzer for entry.
After school, we ask that a parent/guardian is at the school no later than the dismissal time if their child is pick-up. Especially with the upcoming changes in weather, students should not be left alone outdoors unsupervised. Please also discuss with your child that if an emergency occurs and their guardian is not able to be on time for pick-up (no parent present at dismissal), they are to walk to the Main West Doors and ring the doorbell to the school office to wait inside at which point Office Staff would contact parents.
Evacuation and Lockdown Safety:
Another safety aspect is when our school practices fire drills/evacuations several times in a year to ensure that students and staff know what to do in case of a real fire or emergency. In the same way that we practice a fire drill, our school will be practicing a “lockdown” at some point during the week of October 17th to 21st, 2022. A lockdown is a period of time when all doors in our school are locked. An external lockdown will prevent anyone from entering the school from the outside. An internal lockdown will prevent anyone from moving around the inside of the school. Practicing a lockdown is just like practicing a fire drill. In a fire drill, everyone has certain roles and responsibilities they must perform. It is the same for a lockdown situation.
Teachers will review information with students prior to the actual practice lockdown. It is the expectation of the school that students will follow all instructions and directions provided by school staff. Please also take the time at home to review with your child the importance of practicing lockdowns and evacuations and to put them at ease that the school’s priority is always their safety.
Please note that during this lockdown, our school’s police officer, Constable Mark, will be helping us with it to ensure that we are doing everything correctly.
- School Photo Retakes:
- Occurring on October 19, 2022
- This is also Photo Day for Mandarin Bilingual Group A
- Jacket Racket
Thank you to those families that have dropped off some lightly used or new items for our Jacket Racket collection. We will continue to collect items until October 31, 2022. Should your family be personally in need of such items, we would ask that you email your child’s teacher directly, or the school office at MarionCarson@cbe.ab.ca. before October 24th, 2022.
A Message from School Council…
- School Council / Parent Association Meeting: Our next School Council/Parent Association meeting will be this Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7pm. This meeting will be held in-person at Marion Carson School in the Library Learning Commons. All parents / guardians are welcome to attend.
- Casino Volunteers
- Our School Council / Parent Association-led casino is quickly approaching, and we are still in need of many volunteers for November 9th and 10th! PLEASE USE THE SIGN-UP GENIUS LINK BELOW AND SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
- Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Casino Coordinator Vanesse L. at vyloke@gmail.com
Sign-up Genius. CLICK HERE.
- Bottle Drive
- School Council is holding their Bottle Drive this weekend
- Please drop off your can and bottle recycling at the Marion Carson School parking lot this Sunday October 16, 2022, between 9am-2pm.
*To volunteer, SIGN UP HERE
Sincerely,
Mr. D. Turner
Principal, Marion Carson Schoolk
