Welcome back to the start of a new term. It feels just like yesterday that we started the school year! I often get asked about the biggest challenges we face here at Mary Mac. For the most part, it is a very positive and happy community with high levels of welcoming, tolerance, inclusion and understanding as we are a very diverse school. Many of our challenges deal with the volume and complexity of the issues we face daily. However, if I did have to comment about the biggest challenge, I would say it relates to the traffic issues in the car park on Cassowary Drive. Most complaints I receive are from parents informing me that other parents are not following the directions which are clearly marked on the ground and on signs throughout the car park. We have four signs requesting that you don’t turn right onto Cassowary Drive at peak times and the crosswalks are also not being used properly. On several occasions, I have seen parents lead their children by hand in between moving vehicles, rather than using the crosswalks. Parents are still parking in the drop off zone, especially before school and I am aware of some parents having verbal confrontations with other parents. This has been an ongoing issue for a long time and ultimately, it is up to our parents and grandparents to do the right thing in the interests of the safety of our most precious resource; our beautiful students. There have been a few near misses this year and I dread to think what could happen. As you know, I am out there on duty on most afternoons, and most of you are doing the right thing. However, until everyone always does the right thing, this will continue to be a point of conflict. I often remind parents that the staff are on duty until 3.20pm and the car park usually becomes very quiet at about 3.10pm. If I was a parent here, I would be driving through at 3.15pm. No waiting in line, no issues with congestion and no problems getting onto Cassowary Drive. I strongly urge all parents to do the right thing and follow the directions in the interests of the safety of our students.
