Winter School Safety

Dear DeSales Family,

As I sit down to write to you today, it seems as if winter may be planning to make its first real appearance for this year.  The weather report this morning warned us of the possibility of lake effect snow and, more telling, Mr. Rich spent time today making sure that the school’s snow plow was ready to go.  With these harbingers of impending winter weather, I would be remiss if I did not take a quick opportunity to review a few perennial safety concerns.

• Please remember that all of our little ones walk through the parking lot in some form or fashion and they do not always look before moving on.  As a rule make sure that you enter and exit the lot through the designated lanes and that you adhere to a maximum speed of no more than five miles per hour.
• Please allow some extra time for students to get into class in the morning as they are wearing a few more clothes, and so is everyone else in the school.  If you have never seen an elementary school hall the day of a first real snow, it looks as if a tornado has hit with kids and clothes everywhere.
• With the previous in mind, please be sensitive to the time of teachers immediately before and after school.  The time is designed for daily preparation and brief student questions.  Unfortunately, they often do not have time to accommodate drop-in parent conferences.  It is always best to either call, e-mail, or drop a line to schedule a conference.  As a school, it is our goal to reply to all communication, at the latest, in 24 hours. 
• Please remember that passing a school stopped school bus, even with a permanent divider in the road is illegal. 
• Finally, in the rare case that DeSales Catholic School is going to close because of inclement weather we will publicize this on all major television stations and, in all instances, if the Lockport City School District is closed because of inclement weather, DeSales is closed.

On a personal note, thank you one and all for the delicious cookie and fruit tray as well as the generous Christmas bonus.  Your kindness to me and my family is greatly appreciated today and the whole year through.