Dear Golden Families,

It is finally spring, and you would not know that based on last week’s weather. I cannot wait to be back in classrooms reading to some of our classes. This is also where I shamelessly plug the importance of reading at home. It starts with families reading together, and I challenge you to help your students unplug and spend more time with real life books. Reading together before bedtime is still a favorite core memory I have with my mom and something I did with my own daughters. It is my hope that you are finding time to read and talk to your children each day and night. The time goes by so quickly, and I miss those moments with my own girls now that they are in high school and college.

And now for the fun topic of safety along Golden Avenue. I know everyone loves seeing their favorite principal out along Golden Avenue asking people to please follow our best safety procedures. I hope everyone knows I am not trying to make anyone’s life harder or more difficult. These safety procedures are for you and your children. With the added construction, it has become even more important to help keep our children safe. When we see hundreds of cars making U turns because the road ends and we have families crossing the street, it can become a recipe for disaster. I have seen too many close calls, including one on Friday afternoon.

My ask for you is simple. 1) 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬/𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐔𝐩𝐬: 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭. I understand it feels out of the way if you walk out and turn right and by the time you get to the end of Golden Avenue to cross it seems far away, but if you use the crosswalk when you first walk out, it only adds about two extra minutes. 2) 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐭: 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐤. I understand it may feel easier to make a U turn at Golden Avenue to go the direction you want, but with so many cars turning around it is clogging the front of the school and adding congestion. When you add in the people not using the crosswalk, it makes it even more dangerous.

In the end, I realize most of you are making great and safe choices, so thank you for being models of respect, responsibility, and safety for your children. We appreciate you.

𝐀 𝐅𝐞𝐰 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬:

☑️ Register your new-to-Golden students for next year — don’t delay! Early Bird/Late Bird TK is first come first served! We need your help to finalize our numbers!
☑️ Sign up for the Reach Shamrock ’N Run! Who wants to walk with Mrs. Dempsey and me? The kids can run of course! Ha ha!
☑️ Take the calendar survey sent out last week - Deadline is Tuesday!

I cannot wait to see all of your students' smiling faces!

Warmly,
Kristin McDonald
Principal, Golden Elementary

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 – 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘺. 💙💛🦅