Be careful (and patient) please

School is starting this week, and we would characteristically ask you in this issue of the News Letter Journal to start exercising a bit of extra caution in the morning and afternoon hours when children are going to and from school.
It has been awhile since you’ve had to deal with kids running to bus stops or school busses stopping at bus stops (page 18 of last week’s paper for our subscribers).
We’re no longer used to the lines of traffic that will be pulling on and off Highway 16 at both the elementary and middle/high school complexes, and we’ve also forgotten how Main Street and some other parts of town can get a little busier when a school event is going on.
So we again ask that you exercise a little extra vigilance and patience in driving this year, especially at peak school traffic time, but we also want to ask that those of you who are going to and from our schools to be a bit more patient and exercise extra caution as well, especially at the Elementary School.
Parent drop-off and pick-up lines have always been a challenge — and Michael Keaton is just one of many who have immortalized them in Hollywood — but the situation at Newcastle Elementary School has gotten particularly challenging.
The News Letter Journal shared the school district’s plan to address the issue at Newcastle Elementary School last week, and we urge you to check it out before you try to navigate your way around the building at peak hours this year. Given the space and resources at hand, the district adopted this plan to improve safety for children, parents and other motorists, and it’s success largely depends on your ability and willingness to take your time as you make your way through the line — or around it if it occasionally trickles back to the highway.
School leaders have faith in your desire to help and we do too, but it is hard to get everybody on the same page if we all don’t get a copy of the book. So spread the word, share the map or point friends and fellow parents (and grandparents) to wcsd1.org or newslj.com for more information on this and other school issues.
Have a safe and wonderful start to your school year!