Parents and students alike are getting used to River Valley School’s new safe and secure processes, says the school’s principal.
Hallway and classroom access, parking, and student entrance and exit procedures as well as supervision are among the changes that have been made to enhance student safety, said principal Leslie Cooper-Shand.
“I think it felt like quite a change for some folks who’ve maybe grown up in this community and have always had sort of free access to hallways and classrooms and I think that felt like kind of a switch-up for folks, but I think it actually went incredibly well,” said Cooper-Shand of the first day of classes.
Parents dropping off items during the school day are asked to leave items at the main office, or children can be called to the office to speak with parents directly. Staff can also go with parents to the classroom, as only school personnel and on-duty volunteers can be in the hallways during the school day.
New signage has been erected in the school drop-off loops reminding drivers it is not a place to park.
“We worked really hard to find some alternative parking,” said Cooper-Shand, adding the effort was met with success.
Starting the very first day of school, she said drivers have taken advantage of alternative spots at the ball diamonds north of the school and the arena parking lot to park and then walk with the kids to the school.
“We have crosswalk support. So a crosswalk supervisor in the morning and after school from the arena to the school which we’ve never had before. So that’s really helpful as we have high school and school bus traffic to navigate there,” she said.
All around, supervision has been boosted and resources targeted to the varied ages now attending the school.
For the second year now, the school is home to pre-kindergartners who are as young as three years old.
“We have three adults that help navigate those little guys in and out of the building,” she said. “There’s only a few of them but they come with lots of uniqueness.”
Comparatively, one supervisor looks after the Grade 8s.
Tweaks to the safe and secure processes have resulted in an even better learning environment, she said.
Kindergarten to Grade 6 students are now lining up outside their entry door when the bell rings which has helped tame the boot room chaos, as she called it.
“Such a small change, but it’s made a significant difference in how our kids are navigating into the building, how much more quickly they are settling into their hallway, getting their stuff unpacked and then moving into their classroom. It’s actually, probably increased the learning in the day in a significant way which is really what we’re all about.”
