As mentioned at the parent meeting, this process has been put in affect to keep the student's safety first. Now that we are having a later rehearsal during the winter months, it is dark when your children leave the school. Although I feel as if Wyoming is a very safe town, it is my job as a teacher to make sure I utilize everything I can to make sure all students are accounted for at all times.
WHY SIGN IN & OUT?
-SAFETY FIRST! The outside doors stay locked for a reason. All kids who are entering the building after school hours need to be accounted for.
-ATTENDANCE. I am able to quickly see who is and who is not at rehearsal.
-DOORS CANNOT BE PROPPED OPEN. This is a request straight from the administration. Since we now have an adult signing kids in and out, the door is only opened for students who are entering or exiting, watching that door the first and last 15 minutes of all rehearsals.
With this being said, I am able to tweak this process.
1. STUDENTS DO NOT NEED THEIR PARENTS TO SIGN THEM IN. I am not necessarily concerned with how the students get to rehearsal, just that they have made it here safely. It is your responsibility as parents to get them to rehearsal and make arrangements for their time between school and rehearsal. However, ALL STUDENTS MUST SIGN IN WHEN THEY ENTER THE BUILDING FOR REHEARSAL. I do not need a parent's signature or permission to SIGN IN THE STUDENT. The student is responsible for this and can handle signing themselves in.
2. STUDENTS MUST HAVE PARENTS PICK THEM UP/SIGN THEM OUT. Since it is dark at the end of rehearsals, parents, please come in to pick up your child and sign them out.
Other Feasible Options:
-Send in a sibling to get your child
-Show the parent volunteer on duty at the door that you are there to assure that your student is leaving safely with the right person
-Send in a permission slip that your student is allowed leave the building without you being there
**If a parent is carpooling and taking a group of children home, that parent is responsible for all those children in the carpool and can sign those students out.
PARENT VOLUNTEERS FOR SIGN IN/OUT:
When it is your turn to head up the signing in/out and helping in the hallway with rehearsals, please remember the following:
-Please arrive 15 minutes before rehearsal. You can enter through the side door by the cafeteria to get in without a key card to then go around to the front doors and begin signing in the students. All students need to use the front door.
-Please sign the kids in and have them stay downstairs by the front doors. I will come down and get them when I am ready for them at 5:00 (or when rehearsal begins). This also helps our cleaning staff since the janitors are always working on the front hall around the time of our rehearsal. Also, the theater stays locked - so please stay downstairs until I come get the students.
-Stay downstairs the first 15 minutes of the rehearsals to make sure that no one got locked out from rehearsal.
-Come upstairs and hang out by the conference room nook to monitor groups of students that I send out in the hallways to work on music/choreography.
-5 minutes before rehearsal ends, go down to the front doors and begin to sign the kids out.
There is a desk downstairs by the front door that says 'DO NOT MOVE'. This currently belongs to us. There are sign-in/out sheets in the desk, as well as a pencil. Feel free to move the desk out by the front doors to help make signing in/out easier then move the desk back after all the students have signed out for the evening.
**PLEASE NOTE: with my current work schedule, I will get there on time but not extremely early. I am available for 15 minutes after rehearsal to discuss any needs. Students, there is no need for you to come early, just get there on time. Please use this time to go home, work on homework, or eat something. REMEMBER: no one can stay in the building between rehearsal and school unless you have made prior arrangements with other teachers, coaches, etc. The library across the street is also a great resource to use.
Thank you for being flexible with this process. I believe these small tweaks we can make to this process will only increase our students' safety, as well as not make this transition so difficult. We can do this!! Thank you in advance.
