This month, students will be returning to school in the tri-county area. Your child’s safety is our number one priority. Please take a few moments to review back-to-school safety with your child.
Walking To School
If your child walks to school, make sure there are sidewalks along the way. If you are not able to walk with your child, remember there is safety in numbers so have your child walk with siblings or other neighborhood children. Being hit by a car is by far the greatest threat to any child walking to school. Make sure your kids stay on the sidewalk and only cross at crosswalks. Remember to remind your children to never, ever stop to talk to strangers on the way to and from school and, most importantly, never to get into any vehicle with a stranger. These could potentially be life threatening situations.
Bicycle Safety
Children peddling to school on bicycles must wear bike helmets – it’s the law. Helmets are the single most effective devices for cyclists, greatly reducing the risk of death or critical injury. Your children should ride their bicycles on the right side of the road and obey stop signs and traffic signals.
Bus Ride
Children who ride the bus should never misbehave. And remember, no bullying. It’s important for children to remain seated at all times, keeping their hands and feet inside the vehicle and never throw anything inside or outside of the bus. When exiting the bus, children should always cross in front of the bus – never from behind.
Drivers need to remember that Florida law prohibits passing, in either direction, a school bus that is stopped with its flashing lights activated on a two-way street or highway. If the highway is divided by a raised barrier or an unpaved median at least five feet wide, an example is US Hwy 27, you do not have to stop if you are moving in the opposite direction of the bus. Anyone caught passing a stopped school bus or speeding in a school zone can expect to get a costly fine – the Lady Lake Police Department simply will not tolerate violations that could harm a child. Please reference Florida State Statute 316.172.
Drivers must also remember to slow down in school zones. Driving slowly and carefully through school zones greatly reduces the risk of a tragic accident.
Bullying
Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power or strength. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending him or herself. Usually, bullying is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms such as physical, verbal, emotional and cyber-bullying. Signs that your child might be bullied are: torn clothes; loss of appetite; mood changes; and/or a reluctance to go to school. It’s important that your child knows they can talk to you if they are being bullied. Whenever you know that someone is the victim of a bully, you should speak up and report it right away.
Many schools in Lake County have a school resource officer or deputy. If your child is experiencing trouble with others or feels they are being bullied, please contact the school’s administrative office and ask to speak to the officer or deputy.
By keeping safety in mind, we can work together to make the 2019-2020 school year safe and successful.
