As we begin the new year, your child's safety and security are the highest priorities for us. School and families must partner together to make the best decisions for your child. We have developed systems and procedures that reduce the risk of incidents happening. Here's where we need your help.
1. Government Issued Photo ID--Every time you come to CPES (other than our Open House and the first day of school), we will ask for a government issued ID (i.e. Driver's License, Passport, or other SC or US issued ID). Even if we know you, we will ask.
2. Drop Off Procedures--Every child cannot be dropped off at the front doors of our school. (We wish that were the case but it is not possible.)
a. Pull down as far as you can to the space available.
b. Have your child exit the car when a Safety Patrol or adult opens the door. We will monitor their progress as they walk to the front doors.
c. Whether you are parked in space #1 or space #14, we need all children to exit the car.
d. Be sure your child knows how to get out of his car seat and has everything needed when they exit.
e. Say goodbye in the car and please do not yell out the car window as your child is walking down the sidewalk. This could make him/her walk back towards the car and get hit by a car.
f. Upon entering the Cherry Road Loop, use both car lanes and when the two lanes merge, please take turns merging.
g. Do not park in the parking lot and walk your child across four lanes of traffic to get to the entrance. Do not park across Cherry Road and walk your child to campus. (We do allow families who live within walking and biking distance to travel in those manners.)
h. Do not drop your child off after 7:40 by themselves. Late sign-ins for parents start at 7:40.
i. Please don't use your cell phone in the car line when it is moving.
j. Know that arrival and dismissal will take longer these first few weeks. It will get better during the second week when all students are on campus.
k.To avoid car line traffic, leave home earlier than you think is necessary. (My standard answer is to leave five minutes earlier.) Parents arriving by 7:20 will easily get through the car line with little traffic.
3. Pickup Procedures:
a. Anytime anyone is picking up your child by car, he/she will need a car tag. Blue tags are for pickup in the Caswell Loop (off of Caswell Street). Green tags are for pickup in the Cherry Road Loop (off of Cherry Road).
b. If you do not have your car tag, you will be required to have your ID verified by the office.
c. If your child is not at your car when the car line is moving, pull down and park and we will get your child to you. In these first few weeks, we will inevitably have kids in one car loop line when they should be in the other. That will get worked out quickly.
d. 2:45 is the earliest you can pick up your child from Be Great Academy (after school program). This allows us to get all other students transitioned in the building first. If you need to pick up your child before 2:45, have your child bring a note to the teacher for them to be a car rider. All Be Great Academy parents should get car tags for days when we do early dismissals.
e. If you need to change the way your child goes home, this has to be done by written note that your child needs to give to his teacher or in person in the office. For safety and security reasons, we can't accept an email or phone call.
f. Anyone picking up your child (or who comes to visit during lunch) has to be on your child's emergency contact list.
g. The latest a student can be signed out from the office is at 1:45. We begin the dismissal process then and it is hard to get one child to the office while we are transitioning 825 other students.
4. During the Day:
a. We ask that you wait to visit during lunch after Labor Day. This gives us time to establish procedures with our children.
b. Again, be sure you have your ID when you come to visit.
c. We strongly encourage you to help your child become more responsible by not dropping off items in the office (unless they are medications). If he forgets today, he might have a minor consequence but will learn to have it the next day. All kids can eat lunch for no cost in the cafeteria. If she forgets a lunch, she can eat there with no problem. I promise that you will build the best responsibility muscles for your child by not dropping off items.
d. For food safety reasons, parents who wish to bring their child lunch from a restaurant can only do that when they visit their child during their lunch time.
e. When pre-arranged with the teacher, any snack items delivered to classes must meet the guidelines within the District Snack Letter provided below.
5. See Something, Say Something--Just like we tell our kids at school, if you see something that is a safety or security issue, say something to a staff member. The best security cameras we have are our parents and staff and students. In the event of an emergency, feel free to call 911.
We appreciate all the ways that you have and will help our children be safe and secure. Our Cherry Park Family Handbook is now available on our website along with Bus Guidelines. Please click on the buttons below to access them. We look forward to seeing you at Open House on Thursday from 4:30-6:30 PM.
Strength and Blessings to You,
Mr. Maness
