Start of school means traffic changes at Moccasin Elementary

Published 5:59 pm Tuesday, August 28, 2012

As Buchanan Community Schools students prepare for the first day of school Tuesday, Moccasin Elementary students and parents need to be aware of a few important changes.

Due to the district’s switch to all-day kindergarten this year, more than 420 children ages 3 to 7 will be arriving and dismissing at the same time each day. Because of this, student drop-off and pick-up procedures have changed greatly since last year.

Parents will no longer enter the school to pick up their children at the end of the day and there will be no drop-offs or pick-ups on Moccasin Avenue or Fifth Street. Instead, drop-offs and pick-ups will only occur in the designated areas in the staff parking lot north of Moccasin.

Fifth Street will be closed to traffic except buses and staff from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Moccasin Street will be a one-way street going north from 8 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. No parking on either side of Moccasin Avenue is allowed during these times.

Parents are being asked to line up along the east side curb in front of Moccasin and to remain in their vehicles for their turn to go into the closest south point entrance to the parking lot to drop off or pick up their children. Cars will then exit to the farthest north point exit of the parking lot following the arrows.

An adult will be in the parking lot before school to escort students to the appropriate place. After school, students will line up by grade level inside the building and wait until they are told by an adult there is someone to pick them up.

At Buchanan Middle Schools, the front gym door will open at 7 a.m. for breakfast. Doors open for all students at 7:25 a.m. and classes begin at 7:35 a.m. Classes end at 2:35 p.m.

Buchanan Middle School will hold its fifth- and seventh-grade open house at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The sixth-grade open house is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Eighth-grade orientation is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the high school auditorium.

Parent nights for grades 9-12 will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Parent night for ninth grade is Sept. 10, 10th and 11th grades Sept. 11 and 12th grade Sept. 12.

Buchanan High classes begin at 7:25 a.m.

All Buchanan schools offer a before-school breakfast program that begins Tuesday. Elementary breakfast begins at 8 a.m., middle school at 7 a.m. and high school 6:45 a.m.