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19 · Friday, November 25, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Tossing ball a `safety issue' By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A group of about 15-20 elementary students have been told not to play with a football while they wait for a school bus outside of Gladys Speers Public School. A parent of one of these students was surprised to receive a letter from the school principal telling her child not to do so. "Our children, who get onto this bus, were pulled out of their class at Pine Grove School, sent down to the office, handed a letter, and told that they were demonstrating unsafe and disrespectful behaviour at their bus stop," said Lisa Michaels, mother of a student in Grade 8. "We have two issues. What the heck are they doing pulling our kids out of their class? Second, we don't see any unsafe or disrespectful behaviour." The issue is over a grassy area in front of Gladys Speers that is circled by the roadway (Samway Road) and the school driveway, where school buses and parents drop off students. The school says throwing a ball in that area is unsafe. Michaels disagrees. "Yes, they pass a ball around, but they are waiting in an area that is about 100-feet long, by about 50-feet wide, plus the sidewalk, plus the boulevard. They're doing it all with parental and guardian supervision," she said. The activity occurs during a span of less than 10 minutes, from about 8:50 a.m. when the children begin to gather for the bus and 8:57 a.m. when they get picked up. Classes at Gladys Speers start at 8:45 a.m. The request by the principal is for a safety reason, said school board spokesperson Marnie Denton. "You have the street going by on one side and the drop off area for the school. These kids are on the piece of property in between," she said. "In the morning, there are a lot of school buses and parents dropping off kids and it can get quite busy in the parking lots." Denton said the principal was concerned for the safety of these students, who do not attend Gladys Speers, and asked them not to play with a ball, or to swing on trees and, by doing so, break branches. First, the principal went to the students directly, but as the issue was not resolved, she wrote a letter to the parents, which was sent through the principal at Pine Grove Public School. "This is to advise the kids that they are not being safe. This is just a safety issue," Denton said. "You know what kids are like. If a ball is going off f the sidewalk, they don't really care, they'll just try to grab it and it's just not safe." As to the issue of respect, Denton said the school wants the children to be mindful of a memorial located within that grassy area. "There is a small tree planted for a student who is recently deceased. There's a little memorial plaque. They want the children to respect that area," Denton said. However, Michaels said the students are aware of the memorial and have never been disrespectful u to it. t. Join us Sat., Nov. 26 Centriller Square Noon-4pm ­ Santa & Entertainment 4-6 pm ­ Annual Carol Sing & Tree Lighting For more information, visit Bronte Village BIA info@brontevillage.net www.brontevillage.net Renovate · Decorate · Celebrate Great foo d for gr a eat price! 2544 Speers Road (Corner of Speers & Bronte) WE SERVE BREAKFAST! STARTS T DECEMBER 1ST. T WEEKDAYS 7AM - ALL DAY. A WEEKENDS 9AM - ALL DAY. A Time is Precious, Mistakes are Costly and Decorating is complicated. BEST BREAKFAST F IN TOWN! UPCOMING EVENTS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9th CHRISTMAS PARTY Starts at 8pm Serving free food! SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10TH FREE UFC #140 Gift t Cer ificates lable vail Ava FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30TH FREE UFC #141 Food & drink specials all weekend! CHECK OUT OUR NEW MENU AND DEALS! Every Friday is Karaoke Night! Inq q Inquire about your P ersonal l Design Consultation Personal At Fitz by Design we are committed to creating breathtaking, functional onal spaces a unique as the individuals living in them. p s that are Starts at 9pm 905.847.8595