More Collier Citizen School News

• Hawks on patrol at Corkscrew Middle School
• Class Notes: Thanks to Newell for work on referendum
• EES gives new meaning to ‘line dancing’

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Share and Enjoy [?]

I think it’s probably still early enough in the new school year to talk a little bit about student safety. Making sure our students – your children – are safe is a top priority for our schools and the school district, but it’s also something that folks worry about and pay close attention to. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office does a great job each year of getting safety tips out to kids and parents. This year, they did a seven-day back-to-school safety countdown. Here are some of the tips shared:

• If you ride your bike to school, remember to wear a helmet and obey all safety laws. Lock your bike when you’re not riding it.

• If you ride the bus to school, remember to wait until the bus comes to a complete stop, and then look both ways for traffic before you walk toward it and get on board.

• If you walk to school, make sure you’re aware of your surroundings and walk in groups. If a stranger approaches you, scream, run, and tell an adult what happened. Mom and Dad, walk the route with your child to make sure you know it.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/Collier County also urges families to talk about safety the week or two following the opening of school. They offer some tips as well:

• Remind your child to never leave school with anyone they don’t know. They should always check first with a trusted adult, teacher or principal.

• Tell your child to always take a friend when walking or riding a bike to and from school. It’s safer and more fun! Also, stay in a group while waiting at the bus stop.

If your child rides the bus with Collier’s 19,999 other students, we’ve got a quick and easy way for you to find out what’s happening with his or her ride home. Anytime a school bus is running more than a half-hour late, we’ll post a notice on the district Web site at www.collier.k12.fl.us. Check for a school bus icon and the “Late Bus Notice” link in the “What’s New” area, on the right side of the home page. If your child’s bus is running late or a school dismisses students later than usual, we’ll post a notice.