Advisory: Schools Back in Session Tomorrow. Plan Accordingly.
Decatur Metro | July 31, 2013 | 12:18 pmFrom Decatur PD’s Sgt. Jennifer Ross…
Don’t forget that school starts back up in Decatur this Thursday, August 1st. That will result in more traffic in general to include school buses, cyclists and pedestrians. Please slow down and pay extra attention. It is easy to get accustomed to the lighter summer traffic and commute times. However, many of us need to plan for a little extra time getting to where we need to go so we don’t speed through the school zones or drive more aggressively out of frustration because we are now running late. There will be an increased presence of Decatur officers in and around the school zones to remind everyone school is back in session. DeKalb County Schools start back Monday, August 12th and Atlanta Public Schools start back Wednesday, August 7th.
Anyone know if there is a map that shows where all of the crossing guards for our CSD schools will be stationed? Good for those of us trying to finalize walking routes for RMS, DHS, etc.
The CSD website tab “Transportation” has last year’s crossing guard info (text, not map format). Agree that it would be nice to have this year’s up and ready for tomorrow’s walkers and cyclists. Try contacting Central Office–maybe they have it (or the City does) and they just haven’t had time to get the webmaster to post it. It could go out in an eBlast.
Looking forward to taking off work to spend at least a portion of the day (also my birthday) with our little ones in their new class at College Heights. Their summer break was all of two days. 😉
Pretty cool – “Free hot dogs on Thursday! As a welcome back to school, Steinbeck’s, Ujoint & Oakhurst Market will be grilling in Harmony Park from 2:30-3:30! Come on by!”
What a great idea! Sorry I’ll miss it.
I believe Pure Gas downtown will be grillin’ as well.
Wow, I’m so glad I’m no longer in school! Can’t even imagine going back to school on August 1st!
If classes start tomorrow, what is going on at Renfroe today? The parking lot, side streets, RR right of way, and lawn are all littered with cars.
Meet & greets all over CSD this afternoon.
Ahhhh, thank you.
Plan accordingly. Champagne on ice.
Actually, having your baby girl entering high school is a bit sobering.
Speaking of champagne… Where can I go drink after I drop the kiddos off at school? (Besides my front porch).
after i drop my boy off at FAVE i’ll be sippin some sizzurp next to the Hop n Shop dumpster. everyone’s welcome to join me.
FAVE bus on time! – at the gawd awful time of before 7:00 AM. How I miss walking our kids to school in our own neighborhood at a somewhat decent hour! High school bus – still a no show! My DHSer was actually counting on that to happen based on previous years. Guess the kid will be walking to DHS most of the time.
Our DHS/RMS bus showed up. At least I think it did….no one showed back up in the house! Maybe I’m gullible…..?
I wish they would do the busses like my old school district, w/ some spoke busses where the kids walk to the school closest to them (ie either FAVE or their neighborhood elemenatory), and then get bussed to the school that they need to be at (ie from neighborhood elemenatry to FAVE). This continues the promotion of walking for the students and families, and would cut down on costs for the district, parental driving and pollution.
Is Garrett Goebel the best school board member to start bugging about this?
In addition to speaking to Board members, don’t forget Central Office. You could ask whether the Superintendent’s Transportation Committee could take up the issue.
What happened to kids having a summer? Geesh this is early.
We’re just slowly rotating the school calendar counterclockwise. The amount of instruction hours doesn’t change. Eventually, it will make it all the way around the cycle and we’ll start school around Labor Day like the rest of the 21st Century except a few Deep South states and end in June.
I’m looking forward to our beach vacation during the September break. No crowds, cheaper rent, better weather. If we went this week, it would be insane.
If only the athletic department would look at the school calendar when scheduling games. I can’t believe there is a Varsity football game on Saturday, Sept. 7 – the day after the schools close for the break.
Unless they want to play intramural, they have to be in sync with the rest of the world. Other sports and extracurricular activities, school and non-school-based, have same problem. Agree that September break is good for certain vacations. Not skiing, or family reunions if there’s family outside of the Deep South. And not for parents who travel a lot for work. September is when much of the work world, especially conferences, rev up.
Athletics live by the metro calendars unless we want to play nothing but intrasquad scrimmages. Decatur is one of the few metro school systems with breaks in Sept and Feb. These breaks affect scheduling games for fall, winter and spring sports. I doubt football could get a full schedule if they blacked out the two weekends on either end of fall break. Basketball Region tournament falls on the Winter Break week. I’m pretty sure the coach is aware of that, but not much he can do about it.
For cute Winnona Park pictures on AJC, see: http://www.ajc.com/gallery/news/decatur-students-go-back-school/gCCQH/#3695436
I don’t understand why both 4/5 and the elementary schools get out at the same time. It’s physically impossible to walk both a 4th grader and a younger child home. Not crazy about unescorted 9-year-olds walking home alone given the number of robberies, in the daytime, some (I’m thinking of the Oakhurst park one) right around the corner from the school.
BethB, I understand your concern, but if you watch the dismissal from FAVE sometime, you will probably feel better. It’s a mass exodus–there are so many kids walking and riding bikes, and lots of parents and teachers around, it seems highly unlikely that someone would try to pull something off. Most of the 400+ students are heading east and north, so even if your child is alone, he/she is not alone, and the crowd only thins out at Harmony Park. See if you can find a group of friends and/or neighbors for him/her to walk with to a central meeting point, like Oakhurst Market, or a point on the route home or to your younger child’s school.
My daughter has some friends she walks to Oakhurst Elementary with and meets me there. Even when her walking/biking buddies have not been around, she has found someone to pair up with or a group to join. Walking and biking on her own has really fostered her sense of independence and maturity.
I thought about our after school plans in light of the recent robberies, and was worried, too, but I think it is unlikely that someone would try to rob a kid. Usually kids don’t carry money, and there might be a few with cell phones, but even fewer have iPhones. Hopefully the criminals realize that.
*awaits inevitable suggestion that the solution is giving children concealed carry licenses*