Arrival/Dismissal
Westridge students are expected to come directly to school and go home by the safest possible route. On their way to and from school, students are to conduct themselves courteously and obey all school and traffic rules.
Arrival
8:00 Students begin arriving to the following locations where there will be supervision from 8:00-8:10:
Kindergarten: gather at your classroom doors
1st and 2nd Grade: line up in front of building by grade
3rd, 4th and 5th Grade: line up under the covered area by grade
Please do not drop students off before 8:00 as there will be no supervision before this time. The playground is not open before school.
8:10 Building Opens for Students
Please say farewell to your student outside the building. At 8:10, the bell will ring and a staff member will open the building at 8:10. One class or grade will be announced at a time to enter the building.
8:20 The School Day Begins
If your child arrives after 8:20, they will need to enter through the front of the building to check in at the front office before they head to class.
Breakfast: Students getting breakfast will pick-up breakfast by the library when the building opens at 8:10 and bring it to their classrooms to eat.
Car Line Expectations:
Use only the right lane for drop-off
Once your student has exited the car, use the left lane to exit the turnaround
Parents remain in the car (if you want to get out to help your child, you may park in the lot or legally in the neighborhood to do this)
Students should only exit from the right side of the car
Dismissal
Dismissal Plans: Please be sure you have filled out the dismissal survey sent home in the welcome letter from your student's teacher and the bus survey from the office.
Change of Dismissal Plans
If you need to change your students' regular going home plans for a day, please email, call, or stop by the office no later than noon on the day of change (murphya@loswego.k12.or.us and stewardj@loswego.k12.or.us). Please do not send this information to teachers, as they are often unable to check email, or may even have a sub who would not receive the information. The office will then communicate the change to your child's teacher.
Walkers/Bikers
If your student walks or bikes home, they will be dismissed from their exterior classroom door. If you plan to meet your child, please make a plan to meet them close to their exterior door. As much as possible, we would like to keep the front of the school and blacktop areas clear for the car line and bus dismissal. Please be sure students know your meeting spot.
Car Line ***SIGNIFICANT CHANGES PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***
This year, we will only load cars in the right lane.
Please display your children's names and grades in the passenger side window (we will send home the sign on the first day of school).
Staff members will announce your arrival and your child will meet you at your car.
Please remain in your car, if you need to get out to help your child, please plan to park and walk to meet your child.
Students will enter your car from the passenger side only.
Once you have your child, cautiously pull into the left lane to exit the turn around.
Early Dismissal:
If you need to pick up your child early from school, please let the office staff know ahead of time (the morning of) via email. When you arrive, the office will call your child down for you. Please give ample time for them to get packed up.
*Please note that teachers instruct until the dismissal bell and students lose valuable instructional time when checked-out early.
Traffic Control
The safety of the students is the most important goal during drop-off and pick-up. We all have the responsibility to see that every child is safe. In addition, we need to keep traffic moving to facilitate student arrival and dismissal in a timely way. It is imperative that the following rules are observed:
- School buses have first priority. Please defer to bus traffic at all times.
- Parents who drop off along the curb (in front of the bear bench) must stay in their cars. If your child needs help getting out of the car, please park your car and walk your child in. Staff does not help with car seats.
- Please watch for the crossing guards and when they walk out with their stop signs do not go past them. They are here to keep children safe and we must respect their role.
- Do not park on Royce below the school on the right-hand side as you come up the hill. This curb lane is where cars queue up to come through the pick-up line in front of the school. Parked cars slow down this flow.
- Avoid blocking Royce if possible. There are people in the neighborhood who are frustrated by not being able to move up/down the hill. Also, we need to make sure emergency vehicles could get through.
- Respect our neighbors. Please respect the driveways or mailboxes of our neighbors. Follow all traditional DMV setbacks (e.g. 4 feet from a driveway).
- Do not drop off children at the median planter in the parking lot or double-parked on the curb line in front of the bear bench. This causes children to have to pass in front of cars who may not be expecting them or see them.
- Walk, bike or ride the bus to school whenever possible
- Be patient! You are training your child(ren) on how to follow rules and laws by the example you set.
Walking Students
If students arrive or leave school by walking, they should walk with an adult or other students, cross the street only at the pedestrian crosswalks, and go directly to and from school.
Bus Students
The District partners with Student Transportation of America to provide services home. Bus riders are required to follow all bus rules and instructions by the bus driver. Infractions of the bus rules may result in bus referrals issued by the bus driver. The principal will implement consequences on bus referrals issued. Continual infractions of the bus rules may result in the student's loss of bus riding privileges. Although we recommend that students younger than 10 have someone meet them at the bus, Kindergarten students must have an adult or older sibling meet them at the bus stop before they will be allowed off the bus. In the event that your kindergarten student is not met at the stop, the bus driver may make a second attempt. If the driver cannot drop off the kindergarten student to a responsible party, the child will be brought back to Westridge. The contact number for the bus barn is (503) 387-5078.
Biking Students
Students who ride bikes to school are expected to follow all traffic laws and be courteous riders. Use of a helmet is a state law. Students must walk their bicycles at all times while on school grounds, on sidewalks surrounding the perimeter of the school, and when crossing any street. Bicycles must be parked in our student bike rack and locked. Students are to provide their own locks.
Skateboards, Skates, Roller Blades and Scooters
Students may not use skateboards, skates, rollerblades or scooters to, from or at school. Skateboards are not allowed on any school property at any time as per district and city codes. Skateboards, skates, roller blades and scooters brought on campus may be confiscated from students and returned to parents.
We appreciate your help in implementing these plans to ensure the safety of all our students!