By Dr. Annette Weissman, Principal Sunny Isles Beach Community School

During the month of October, schools celebrate Red Ribbon Week with a specific focus on drug awareness.  But we also use the month to address the broader topic of student and school safety.  Specifically, I would like to examine student safety on the way to school and home again.  Does your child walk to or from school with or without an adult?  Does your child ride his bike?  Does your child wait at a street corner for a bus pickup?  Do you drive your child to school?  Each of these methods of travel raises some concerns about child safety.

If your child walks alone or with an adult, remember to walk on the sidewalks and cross in the crosswalks.  Learn the corners where crossing guards are posted and design your route to go that way.  This is so important that we now have a Walk Your Child to School Day (Oct 8, 2008).  On this day, parents were asked to walk their children to school and examine the route carefully.  Were there any obstacles, any broken sidewalks, any dangerous alleyways that would pose problems for the children?  If so, report your findings and let’s see that these impediments are corrected.

If your child rides his bike to school, be certain that he has a proper fitting helmet and a bike lock to secure the bike at school.  Remind your child that he is to walk the bike once he arrives on school grounds.  SIBCS has a conveniently located bike rack for the students to use.

If your child waits at a street corner for a bus pickup, he must remain on the sidewalk at all times.  Students should not be playing games or “joking around” with the other students.  Remind your child to take all his belongings – backpack, lunch, etc.  Anything left at the bus stop will probably be lost.  Once students board the bus, the rules are clear.  Students must remain in their seats and talk softly so the bus driver can concentrate on driving.

Finally, if you drive your child to school, be certain they are seated in the proper seat with a buckled seat beat.  Remember, many of our little ones should be in booster seats and everyone should be seated in the back seats.  When you drop your child at school, adults and patrols are available to assist your child.  No drivers need to get out of their cars to help their children.  Our team is in place every morning and afternoon to ensure a smooth and safe arrival and dismissal.

During inclement weather, it is even more important that we exercise caution on our way to and from school.  Everyone must be a bit more patient when the forecast includes rain and wind.  Allow more time to get to school and remember it takes longer to walk students to and from their cars and buses under an umbrella.  Also, more parents are driving and picking up and dropping of their children.

Safety is paramount from the moment you leave your home in the morning until you and your family are reunited at the end of the day.  I hope you will share these simple guidelines with your children and model safe behavior as you cross streets, bike, and drive throughout the community.  Sunny Isles Beach is home to so many children that caution on the streets is a must for all of us.  Be Safe!