Parking Lot Safety

Greetings,

I've been in recent communications with our district Transportation Director and the Monson Police Chief. These discussions have centered on a few topics. Please review the following points and feel free to contact me with any questions:

1. The law prohibits any vehicle from passing a school bus or school van that is in the process of loading or unloading students. Recently we have had drivers pass our school vans as they are parked loading and unloading students by the school entrance. Please, if you see a parked van do not pass them. To avoid potential confusion I would recommend all general traffic to use the upper parking lot as a pick up and drop off and allow the buses and vans to use the upper drop off area.

2. I have asked for assistance from the police department to help monitor drivers leaving the school at dismissal. We have had some instances where student drivers are exiting too quickly and I am fearful of potential accidents.

I am sharing both of these topics to not only remind people to be cognizant of the buses and vans and the appropriate laws, but to also inform people that an increased police presence within our parking lots and Margaret Street should not come as a surprise. My main focus is on the health and safety of all our students, faculty and community and hope if we can work together we will minimize potential tragic circumstances.

Thank you!

Monson Technology Concerns

It is truly amazing how dependent we have become on technology. I've never realized how important technology is within my professional and personal life until we are faced with such issues. As many of you know, the October snowstorm caused severe infrastructure damage to the school district's network capabilities. I wish I had the magic answer to solve these problems so we can get back to full functioning. Email communication is difficult with several domains and teachers and staff have no access to drives so files are inaccessible.

The most frustrating aspect for the high school is our inability to access our Student Information System. This includes grades. Yes, report cards were supposed to be distributed last week. Due to the technology issues, this is impossible. Once the systems are back up and running we will complete the exporting of grades so we can complete the report card process and distribute. This hopefully will occur soon after the Thanksgiving break.

Seniors should be in contact with their school counselor if our technology problems are interfering with the college admissions process. Our counselors have reached out to several colleges already. Thus far the colleges are understanding. We will do everything within our power to ensure our seniors are not negatively impacted by the technology flaws. Please encourage your seniors to seek out the school counselors with any questions and/or concerns.

Thank you. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving break!