By Mitchell Clarke
Students weren’t the only ones brushing off the back-to-school nerves, with almost 100 Cardinia Shire crossing supervisors also returning to the roads.
The school crossing supervisor is a custom feature outside the classroom, and as Cardinia Shire Council mayor Brett Owen rightly states, “rain, hail or shine you’ll see these friendly faces out our school crossings every day of the school year”.
Thursday 28 January marked the first day of the 2021 learning year for many local schools.
“It’s a huge welcome back to our local students and our school crossing supervisors are on the job to keep our local children safe as they travel to and from school,” Cr Owen said.
He added that the first day back marked the “perfect time” to promote school safety, particularly the importance of using crossings.
“We all have a part to play to ensure the safety of everyone around our schools,” he said.
The top tips for parents include always sticking to the 40km/h school zone speed limit and ensuring children get out of the car on the kerb side to avoid passing traffic.
Students are also encouraged to use school crossings, so they can meet their local crossing lads and ladies, like Sandra.
Sandra has been working outside the schools on Parker Street in Officer for the past year and said she finds it a “rewarding role”.
“I have a background in childcare and also as a traffic controller and love my job helping the children to cross the road safely,” she said.
“I really enjoy getting to know the parents or carers, and the children. They talk about their day or what they might have done on the weekends. With some families, I feel part of their family.”
Where possible, parents are encouraged to utilise the shire’s ‘Stop and Drop Zones’.
With 27 across Cardinia, the zones provide a designated space where parents can drop off and pick up their children on the way to and from school.
They work to ease traffic congestion around the school and encourage children and families to actively travel to and from school whilst also increasing children’s activity levels.
Find your zone: https://cscgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=7bd2ae948bce4d72b584eeff27b48e0e.
