The front office doesn't want to deal with the paperwork. The Mast Way parents are really upset about this. Moharimet allows this and their front office doesn't complain.
This new policy was actually announced in a weekly e-mail to parents (who had subscribed to the listserv) and if you didn't read the entire e-mail you would have missed it, see below:
From the Office
We need your help! We ask that you organize your child’s playdates for a time after your child arrives home from school. It has become increasingly more difficult for our staff to organize the notes from home, confirm the playdates from both families, and ensure that all children are leaving school on the correct buses. Thank you for your help, and we appreciate your understanding!
Parents who sent their children in the very next day with a "play date" note, which happened to be a early release day, received e-mails stating that the notes would be honored on that day but going forward they would not be.
The Mast Way parents finally received a written communication this week from the principal, which gave a bit more detail about the new policy and the problem that led up to the change. Apparently there are too many notes for the front office to handle and as a safety precaution the school needed to eliminate play dates!!?! The school is afraid that a child may get on the wrong bus or left behind. As much as I can appreciate there may be a safety issue here, the policy change was very sudden and too drastic.
At Mast Way, if you have a play date you need to have double notes, one from each child. Moharimet eliminated the double notes years ago. Why didn't Mast Way eliminate the double notes before eliminating play dates? There is a lot of speculation that if the front office at Mast Way was staffed better and more capable there wouldn't be as many problems. There are major inefficiencies in this front office. I would invite anyone who finds the front office at Mast Way to be inefficient to mention it to the principal or superintendent. The principal has answered dozens of complaints on this policy but is refusing to change the policy and has even threatened a more stricter bus policy next year.
There are dozens of families who rely on "play dates" to cover for working parents, medical appointments, carpooling for sports, etc. The principal attended the last PTO meeting and there was no hint or mention of this policy change. I personally like the principal but am disappointed how she rolled this out. I think she lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Mast Way families last week.
This new policy was actually announced in a weekly e-mail to parents (who had subscribed to the listserv) and if you didn't read the entire e-mail you would have missed it, see below:
From the Office
We need your help! We ask that you organize your child’s playdates for a time after your child arrives home from school. It has become increasingly more difficult for our staff to organize the notes from home, confirm the playdates from both families, and ensure that all children are leaving school on the correct buses. Thank you for your help, and we appreciate your understanding!
Parents who sent their children in the very next day with a "play date" note, which happened to be a early release day, received e-mails stating that the notes would be honored on that day but going forward they would not be.
The Mast Way parents finally received a written communication this week from the principal, which gave a bit more detail about the new policy and the problem that led up to the change. Apparently there are too many notes for the front office to handle and as a safety precaution the school needed to eliminate play dates!!?! The school is afraid that a child may get on the wrong bus or left behind. As much as I can appreciate there may be a safety issue here, the policy change was very sudden and too drastic.
At Mast Way, if you have a play date you need to have double notes, one from each child. Moharimet eliminated the double notes years ago. Why didn't Mast Way eliminate the double notes before eliminating play dates? There is a lot of speculation that if the front office at Mast Way was staffed better and more capable there wouldn't be as many problems. There are major inefficiencies in this front office. I would invite anyone who finds the front office at Mast Way to be inefficient to mention it to the principal or superintendent. The principal has answered dozens of complaints on this policy but is refusing to change the policy and has even threatened a more stricter bus policy next year.
There are dozens of families who rely on "play dates" to cover for working parents, medical appointments, carpooling for sports, etc. The principal attended the last PTO meeting and there was no hint or mention of this policy change. I personally like the principal but am disappointed how she rolled this out. I think she lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Mast Way families last week.
Two kids for a combined total of eight years at Mast Way, and this was never a problem. Friends came to our home, our kids went to friend's homes, not just for play dates but to cover for us or friend's parents when we or they occasionally needed coverage at the beginning or end of the day. It was good for our kids and a service to the community. Why in the world is this a problem now? I can't believe that the staff at Mast Way is in any way less capable of handling this now than they were in the past.
I agree the front office at Mast Way has a staffing problem. I wish that when I failed at my job my boss just decreased my work load and kept my pay the same. The women in the front office better perk up, start smiling, start working and get off Facebook in the middle of the day. Why do we tolerate this behavior?
Henry Brackett brought this up at SB meeting tonight but the board backed off asking Howard to compare policies in favor of letting the PTO take up the issue.
Headline: "School Board Throws Parents' Concerns Under the Bus".
Since the Principal at Mast Way has (so far) refused to meet with parents to discuss this issue, what do they expect the PTO to accomplish?
It's their usual lack of leadership...the SB is afraid to ask the Superintendent to do anything. I guess the idea of actually responding to parents/voters is too much to ask.
This should be a building principal policy thing....not the school board. I don't think Henry is "afraid" of Colter at all. I do think that the PTO has many tools and things they can take away if they so choose in protest. I hope they do it to show their frustration. If the principal at Mast Way is not willing to meet, it just shows the arrogance and middle finger to the community. Also, if Moharimet does it...then why not Mast Way. I sometimes feel like the elementary schools operate in vacuums and do not work together.
This is great for this blog!!! One other thing to nutpick and complain about. Another chance to personally attack people without gathering more information to get to the root of the concern...The Board did exactly what they should have done
Hey...Anonymous above...why don't you offer an explanation rather than just say we are complaining...this is a valid concern and the principal is unwilling to meet with us!
I agree the board did what they should have done...however, this blog brings to light the issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. I appreciate the time and effort made to keep this up and running and to allow the community to post feedback.
I agree that this is not a board issue, until parents have exhausted opportunities to hear from and speak with the principal. However, I disagree that this provides another nit/nut picking opportunity. Instead please view it as an opportunity to educate those that may not realize this indeed is NOT a board issue. It is an issue between the parents of Mast Way and their building principal. With this said, I also wonder why not seek this as an opportunity to find out what occurs at Moharimet that works, and look into how it can occur at one elementary school and not another within the same district. I do hope we can err on the side of not attacking the front office workers. While this decision may have been made due to their work load, until that belief have been validated it is incorrect to make such assumptions. The nutpicker commment above serves no purpose, and I hope it is seen as what it is, a further attempt to undermine information sharing that is on this blog. This further shows the need for communication and without a comment from administration such inacurate beliefs will continue to occur.
Wow what has happened to our Mastway? Maybe we need new office personal, or do we need a Principal that can be a boss? Let's remind all that they are there to serve the Studens and Parents of Mastway. What will be next?
Whether students are using the buses to get to another's for play or for childcare or to the non custodial parent...the busing system is in place for safe transportation.
Are we going to say that a child can use the buses for some matters but not others?
This blog is another example how anonymous people can make personal comments and unfounded accusations against people they know nothing about. I think it is safe to say that none of you know what the secretaries in the school go through on a daily basis. Their work is much harder than you might think. They don't just sit there waiting to answer a phone or issue a visitor pass. Whether they are verifying attendance (mandated by the state), offering support for the 30+ teachers in the building, or sorting the giant bag of mail (yeah, the school gets a bunch of junk mail and it has to reach the mailboxes), they are busy and don't have the time to take care of dozens of playdates.
Come on parents, own up to your parenting and do that yourself.
When I grew up in a large city in NH 25 years ago, we weren't allowed on a bus unless we lived on the route. Consider the previous policy a gift while it lasted.
Once again the OR Community Bully Blog is active again. More comments that attack people personally but no one offers their names. This is exactly what the new state law specifically targets
Make stinging, unfair, personal attacks against an employee and hide behind a veil of anonymity. The state of NH targeted bullies in schools by requiring schools to act quickly to prevent the exact thing you all are doing on this blog. You are no better than the bully on the bus or the playground. In fact, you are all cyber bullies.
Grow up. Man up. either put your name on these personal accusations or stop posting them.
I agree wholeheartedly. Looking at these personal attacks on school personnel, the OR Community Bully Blog is still alive and well. It is a shame that parents are doing exactly what the teachers are educating our kids not to do - bully their peers - behind the secrecy of digital media.
Shame on you parents for making these comments and shame on the blog operator for allowing the anonymous attacks.
Why? I think it's a wonderful service.
ReplyDeleteThe front office doesn't want to deal with the paperwork. The Mast Way parents are really upset about this. Moharimet allows this and their front office doesn't complain.
ReplyDeleteThis new policy was actually announced in a weekly e-mail to parents (who had subscribed to the listserv) and if you didn't read the entire e-mail you would have missed it, see below:
ReplyDeleteFrom the Office
We need your help! We ask that you organize your child’s playdates for a time after your child arrives home from school. It has become increasingly more difficult for our staff to organize the notes from home, confirm the playdates from both families, and ensure that all children are leaving school on the correct buses. Thank you for your help, and we appreciate your understanding!
Parents who sent their children in the very next day with a "play date" note, which happened to be a early release day, received e-mails stating that the notes would be honored on that day but going forward they would not be.
The Mast Way parents finally received a written communication this week from the principal, which gave a bit more detail about the new policy and the problem that led up to the change. Apparently there are too many notes for the front office to handle and as a safety precaution the school needed to eliminate play dates!!?! The school is afraid that a child may get on the wrong bus or left behind. As much as I can appreciate there may be a safety issue here, the policy change was very sudden and too drastic.
At Mast Way, if you have a play date you need to have double notes, one from each child. Moharimet eliminated the double notes years ago. Why didn't Mast Way eliminate the double notes before eliminating play dates? There is a lot of speculation that if the front office at Mast Way was staffed better and more capable there wouldn't be as many problems. There are major inefficiencies in this front office. I would invite anyone who finds the front office at Mast Way to be inefficient to mention it to the principal or superintendent. The principal has answered dozens of complaints on this policy but is refusing to change the policy and has even threatened a more stricter bus policy next year.
There are dozens of families who rely on "play dates" to cover for working parents, medical appointments, carpooling for sports, etc. The principal attended the last PTO meeting and there was no hint or mention of this policy change. I personally like the principal but am disappointed how she rolled this out. I think she lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Mast Way families last week.
This new policy was actually announced in a weekly e-mail to parents (who had subscribed to the listserv) and if you didn't read the entire e-mail you would have missed it, see below:
ReplyDeleteFrom the Office
We need your help! We ask that you organize your child’s playdates for a time after your child arrives home from school. It has become increasingly more difficult for our staff to organize the notes from home, confirm the playdates from both families, and ensure that all children are leaving school on the correct buses. Thank you for your help, and we appreciate your understanding!
Parents who sent their children in the very next day with a "play date" note, which happened to be a early release day, received e-mails stating that the notes would be honored on that day but going forward they would not be.
The Mast Way parents finally received a written communication this week from the principal, which gave a bit more detail about the new policy and the problem that led up to the change. Apparently there are too many notes for the front office to handle and as a safety precaution the school needed to eliminate play dates!!?! The school is afraid that a child may get on the wrong bus or left behind. As much as I can appreciate there may be a safety issue here, the policy change was very sudden and too drastic.
At Mast Way, if you have a play date you need to have double notes, one from each child. Moharimet eliminated the double notes years ago. Why didn't Mast Way eliminate the double notes before eliminating play dates? There is a lot of speculation that if the front office at Mast Way was staffed better and more capable there wouldn't be as many problems. There are major inefficiencies in this front office. I would invite anyone who finds the front office at Mast Way to be inefficient to mention it to the principal or superintendent. The principal has answered dozens of complaints on this policy but is refusing to change the policy and has even threatened a more stricter bus policy next year.
There are dozens of families who rely on "play dates" to cover for working parents, medical appointments, carpooling for sports, etc. The principal attended the last PTO meeting and there was no hint or mention of this policy change. I personally like the principal but am disappointed how she rolled this out. I think she lost a lot of credibility with a lot of Mast Way families last week.
why don't they just adopt Moharimets policy?
ReplyDeleteTwo kids for a combined total of eight years at Mast Way, and this was never a problem. Friends came to our home, our kids went to friend's homes, not just for play dates but to cover for us or friend's parents when we or they occasionally needed coverage at the beginning or end of the day.
ReplyDeleteIt was good for our kids and a service to the community.
Why in the world is this a problem now? I can't believe that the staff at Mast Way is in any way less capable of handling this now than they were in the past.
I agree the front office at Mast Way has a staffing problem. I wish that when I failed at my job my boss just decreased my work load and kept my pay the same. The women in the front office better perk up, start smiling, start working and get off Facebook in the middle of the day. Why do we tolerate this behavior?
ReplyDeleteHenry Brackett brought this up at SB meeting tonight but the board backed off asking Howard to compare policies in favor of letting the PTO take up the issue.
ReplyDeleteHeadline: "School Board Throws Parents' Concerns Under the Bus".
ReplyDeleteSince the Principal at Mast Way has (so far) refused to meet with parents to discuss this issue, what do they expect the PTO to accomplish?
It's their usual lack of leadership...the SB is afraid to ask the Superintendent to do anything. I guess the idea of actually responding to parents/voters is too much to ask.
This should be a building principal policy thing....not the school board. I don't think Henry is "afraid" of Colter at all. I do think that the PTO has many tools and things they can take away if they so choose in protest. I hope they do it to show their frustration. If the principal at Mast Way is not willing to meet, it just shows the arrogance and middle finger to the community. Also, if Moharimet does it...then why not Mast Way. I sometimes feel like the elementary schools operate in vacuums and do not work together.
ReplyDeleteThis is great for this blog!!! One other thing to nutpick and complain about. Another chance to personally attack people without gathering more information to get to the root of the concern...The Board did exactly what they should have done
ReplyDeletenutpick should be nitpick...no pun intended:)
ReplyDeleteHey...Anonymous above...why don't you offer an explanation rather than just say we are complaining...this is a valid concern and the principal is unwilling to meet with us!
ReplyDeleteI agree the board did what they should have done...however, this blog brings to light the issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. I appreciate the time and effort made to keep this up and running and to allow the community to post feedback.
To the person who commented that the front office was on Facebook all day....really, it surprises they even know how.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is not a board issue, until parents have exhausted opportunities to hear from and speak with the principal.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree that this provides another nit/nut picking opportunity. Instead please view it as an opportunity to educate those that may not realize this indeed is NOT a board issue.
It is an issue between the parents of Mast Way and their building principal.
With this said, I also wonder why not seek this as an opportunity to find out what occurs at Moharimet that works, and look into how it can occur at one elementary school and not another within the same district.
I do hope we can err on the side of not attacking the front office workers. While this decision may have been made due to their work load, until that belief have been validated it is incorrect to make such assumptions.
The nutpicker commment above serves no purpose, and I hope it is seen as what it is, a further attempt to undermine information sharing that is on this blog.
This further shows the need for communication and without a comment from administration such inacurate beliefs will continue to occur.
Wow what has happened to our Mastway? Maybe we need new office personal, or do we need a Principal that can be a boss? Let's remind all that they are there to serve the Studens and Parents of Mastway. What will be next?
ReplyDeleteServing the students and parents of Mastway should not include facilitating play dates for after school hours.
ReplyDeleteWhether students are using the buses to get to another's for play or for childcare or to the non custodial parent...the busing system is in place for safe transportation.
ReplyDeleteAre we going to say that a child can use the buses for some matters but not others?
This blog is another example how anonymous people can make personal comments and unfounded accusations against people they know nothing about. I think it is safe to say that none of you know what the secretaries in the school go through on a daily basis. Their work is much harder than you might think. They don't just sit there waiting to answer a phone or issue a visitor pass. Whether they are verifying attendance (mandated by the state), offering support for the 30+ teachers in the building, or sorting the giant bag of mail (yeah, the school gets a bunch of junk mail and it has to reach the mailboxes), they are busy and don't have the time to take care of dozens of playdates.
ReplyDeleteCome on parents, own up to your parenting and do that yourself.
When I grew up in a large city in NH 25 years ago, we weren't allowed on a bus unless we lived on the route. Consider the previous policy a gift while it lasted.
Once again the OR Community Bully Blog is active again. More comments that attack people personally but no one offers their names. This is exactly what the new state law specifically targets
ReplyDeleteMake stinging, unfair, personal attacks against an employee and hide behind a veil of anonymity. The state of NH targeted bullies in schools by requiring schools to act quickly to prevent the exact thing you all are doing on this blog. You are no better than the bully on the bus or the playground. In fact, you are all cyber bullies.
Grow up. Man up. either put your name on these personal accusations or stop posting them.
Previous poster:
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. Looking at these personal attacks on school personnel, the OR Community Bully Blog is still alive and well. It is a shame that parents are doing exactly what the teachers are educating our kids not to do - bully their peers - behind the secrecy of digital media.
Shame on you parents for making these comments and shame on the blog operator for allowing the anonymous attacks.