Secondary Parents,
Thank you for your patience this afternoon as we experienced our first secondary dismissal with three lanes, two buildings, and hundreds more students. We realize that things didn't move quite as smoothly as many had hoped, but as we know from past years, the first time implementing a new traffic pattern often comes with its fair share of hiccups and headaches.
Please know that we want nothing more than to get you through and on your way in the shortest amount of time as possible. After much consideration and reflection of what did and did not work this afternoon, we will be making several changes which will go into effect immediately. In addition are a few reminders of the traffic patterns to follow when outside of the Meridian parking lot. Please read the following updates to ensure we get you and your students to the correct place tomorrow afternoon.
*** UPDATES ***
1.) SOME ARE MOVING: High School students without Middle School students will now use the GREEN lane. (This is in addition to those already assigned to the GREEN lane.)
2.) BLUE LANE LOADING: Middle School with their High School siblings (no primary waiters) will now wait under the middle awning to allow students to load alongside the ORANGE lane (not in front of the new building). This will allow us to get more cars in the parking lot and fewer on the roads.
3.) WAITER PICKUP: Rather than older siblings picking up primary waiters at dismissal, staff members will now line up primary students in the appropriate groups and walk them to their designated lanes. This should help everyone get to where they need to be in the shortest period of time.
4.) NO LEFT FROM MAYS: Note that there is a sign on Mays stating the no left turn may be made into our parking lot from Mays during dismissal times. RR Police made this call and will issue tickets to those who ignore the sign.
5.) NO RIGHT ON JEFFREY: Those of you who have ever picked up in primary dismissal know to pass Jeffrey Way (just past Harley-Davidson) and take the next right on Paloma. This helps keep us from backing up on the frontage road. With our numbers having rapidly grown in secondary, this is also the expectation during secondary dismissal. If the police direct you there, that's another story! :) Follow their direction.
6.) YELLOW LANE: There is no YELLOW lane during secondary dismissal. Parents should enter from Mays and either head straight on BLUE or take a quick right on ORANGE or GREEN, following the new drive along the Mays Building.
7.) AFTER-SCHOOL STUDY HALL: This is up and running! After-School Study Hall is now located in the Mays Building cafeteria. When picking up students from study hall between 4:30 and 5:30PM, park in the student parking lot south of the Mays building and enter the cafeteria through the glass doors.
6.) ARRIVAL: Note that the arrival map we've shared shows lane assignments for only 7:30-8:00am. After primary arrival wraps up, feel free to choose the shortest lane or the one which works best for your students.
Hint: yesterday after 8:00 the blue line was the longest, yellow shorter, and green even shorter.
The most current maps can be found HERE.
Again, thank you for your patience. If necessary, we will continue to make tweaks and changes until we get it right. Also keep in mind that the lanes will move faster as everyone adjusts to the new procedures, families begin carpooling, and after-school activities begin.
