Our landlord, DDLETB(Dublin Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board), works with the County Council and with the Department of Education in planning and providing access for our school. Most of the changes that are made are by necessity.
For the first two weeks of the school year, we need to get 450 families - 500 children - onto the site and the parents off again in just 40 minutes. Once our Junior Infants move onto a full school day, in the third week of the school year, we will have just 30 minutes in which to do that.
From 8.30 to 8.40, the 200 families of Citywest ETNS need to drop their children to school. From 8.40 to 8.50, the 200 families of Scoil Niamh CNS need to drop their children to school. And from 8.50 to 9.00, the 50 families of Care n Cuddles pre-school need to drop their children to school. We need absolute efficiency in order to avoid clogging up not only our own site, but all roads nearby also.
We implore you to walk to school every day. If every family who lives within walking distance of our school campus walks or cycles to school, that would dramatically reduce congestion and solve a lot of problems.
Please arrange to walk whenever possible.
Your choices in bringing your child to school are as follows:
1. Walk
2. Cycle or scoot or use some person-powered mode of transport on the path!
These are very much the preferred options. This saves congestion on local roads, this saves congestion in the car park, this gives you lovely quality time with your child, getting fresh air and exercise. Please choose these options as often as you can.
When walking, use the pedestrian access only. Never walk through the car park.
If you must drive, please
1. Use the set-down/drop-off facility
2. Car-pool
Parent volunteers will be stationed at the front of the building from 8.30am to 8.40am each morning, in the designated set-down area, helping your child out of your car and supervising them until they walk into the school building and under the care of school staff. Using this facility means you are off the campus in the shortest time possible.
Car-pooling means getting together with another one or more families and having one parent drive all of the children to school. This drastically reduces the number of cars on the road and in the car park and so reduces congestion.
If you wish to drive and to escort your child into the building yourself, you will need to turn left after coming in the gate of the school - this is a new gate, further up Fortunestown Lane. (The gate we have been using will be for Exit Only - please come back over the weekend to see a map detailing the new system.) To the left is a car park, where you should reverse into a spot. You will then walk with your child along the front of the building and around to the school entrance. When you are leaving, you will still drive along the front of the building, past the set-down area and out the Exit gate.
Anyone arriving before 8.30am or after 8.40am will need to park in the car park. The Drop-off facility is strictly for those 10 minutes only.
Finally, the drop-off facility is fundamental to the smooth running of the car park in the morning and in this way it needs all the help it can get. 10 minutes in the morning is all it takes to volunteer your time to help the school car park run smoothly and efficiently; the drop-off helps children on campus and helps parents to get back on the road as quickly and safely as possible. Please help if you can. Thanks in advance.