Dear Southmoor Families,
As we continue strengthening our arrival and dismissal routines, we want to remind everyone that the safety of our students, families, staff, and neighbors must come first during drop-off and pick-up. With hundreds of people and vehicles moving through the area within a short period of time, each of us plays an important role in creating a safe and orderly environment.
Please help us by consistently following these expectations:
Use your student’s designated drop-off and pick-up area. Please do not drop off or pick up students in areas that are not designated for this purpose.
Follow the established traffic flow and staff directions. Please remain attentive to staff supporting arrival and dismissal and follow their directions.
No U-turns around the school during arrival and dismissal. U-turns create unpredictable traffic patterns and increase risks for students and pedestrians.
Drive and park only in the appropriate direction of traffic. Please do not drive against traffic or park facing the opposite direction of travel to access the school more quickly. NO double parking-this creates a traffic jam and potential safety issue.
Respect our neighbors’ properties and driveways. Please do not park in, block, or use neighborhood driveways as turning or waiting areas. Being mindful of the people who live around Southmoor is both an act of safety and good-neighbor behavior.
Use designated loading and unloading areas. Students should enter and exit vehicles only when vehicles are safely stopped. Please do not stop in traffic lanes, intersections, crosswalks, or other undesignated areas.
Use sidewalks and designated crosswalks. Please avoid crossing between vehicles or directing children across traffic outside established crossings.
Drive slowly and remain attentive. Please watch carefully for children, pedestrians, bicyclists, other vehicles, and staff throughout the school zone.
Bicycle Safety
We are also seeing an increasing number of students riding bicycles to school, and we want to encourage this while ensuring that it is done safely. Students who ride bikes must dismount and walk their bicycles once they enter school premises and other high-pedestrian areas around arrival and dismissal. Bikes should not be ridden through areas where students and families are gathering or walking.
We continue to monitor bicycle-safety concerns and are researching the best options for safely and securely storing student bicycles during the school day. We will communicate any additional procedures or changes with families as we identify solutions that best support our students.
Above all, please choose safety over convenience. An unsafe turn, stopping in an undesignated location, driving against traffic, or blocking a neighbor’s driveway may save a few moments, but it can create significant risks for a child, family member, staff member, or neighbor.
These expectations are not simply traffic procedures—they are part of how we take care of one another and our surrounding community. When adults demonstrate patience, responsibility, and consideration during arrival and dismissal, we model the same Respect, Responsibility, Collaboration, and Kindness that we ask of our Mighty Moose every day.
Thank you for partnering with us to make arrival and dismissal safe, predictable, and respectful for everyone.
In service of the most important person in the world - YOUR CHILD,
Jonell Pineda
Principal
Southmoor Elementary School
3755 South Magnolia Way, Denver, CO 80237
720-424-3930 | Fax: 720-424-3955