December 22, 2011

Dear Clinton Families,

We would like to make you aware of a situation that occurred yesterday to one of our fifth grade students. While this student was walking home from school (3:00) a stranger walked up to him and asked him what time it was. When he took his phone out to tell him the time, the stranger stole his phone. Fortunately, the student was not harmed.

Please take some time over the holiday break to remind your child about “stranger danger.” Also, make sure that if your child does walk home from school they have a buddy with them, if possible.

Sincerely,
Patricia O’Neill
Principal

The snow has made morning drop-off very tricky for the past few weeks.
We urge all drivers to please park a couple of blocks away from the
school building and walk your child to his/her entrance. There is too
much snow to park on the blocks immediately surrounding the building
and traffic congestion at the intersection of Burroughs and Berkshire
is awful. The drop off area in front of school is also more difficult
to access because of snow.

There have been too many double-parked cars and too many children
being dropped off in areas that are not safe for them to walk.

Please give yourself some extra time in the morning and find a parking
space on a street a couple of blocks away. Please help us create the
safest possible conditions for our students.

Many parents have been asking about outdoor recess during these cold days. Here are the district’s guidelines.

Snow day!

And yes, 4/9 is now a school day (via Patch).

The recent snow accumulation has made traffic conditions even more difficult around Clinton School in the morning. Now, more than ever, we urge you to park on an adjacent street and walk your child to his/ her door.

The last few mornings car after car pulls up into the crosswalk, completely blocking it to pedestrians. Since snow is piled on the curbs around the crosswalk, there is no way for pedestrians to get around these cars, leaving children in the dangerous position of standing in the street.

It is never OK to block a crosswalk, especially in front of a school, when there are hundreds of children crossing streets.

If you can pull up into the drop off zone to let your child out of the car and then immediately pull away, that’s fine. If there are too many cars waiting to do that, then please, park on an adjacent street and walk your child to the door. Do not pull into a crosswalk.

Several parents have complained about the dangerous conditions that are created when drivers are not obeying traffic rules in front of our school. Many children walk to school, some accompanied by adults, others on their own. Their safety must be ensured.

The Maplewood Police Department has asked local PTAs to spread the word about the enforcement of an Anti-Idling Policy beginning February 15th.

No car should be idling for more than 3 minutes, unless the vehicle is a school bus. Fines for idling longer than the allowed time will begin at $250.

They asked us to let you know that they will actively be enforcing this policy around town and around our local schools.

If you have questions about the policy you can contact the Maplewood Police Department.