Car Park
Mother Teresa School has over 800 students attending the school. The majority of students are driven to and from school. The school has only one entrance and one exit both of which are on Wimmera Street which is an extremely busy street both before and after school. It is important to understand how our car park works.
Aim:
- To ensure the safety of students around parking areas and in the pick-up and drop-off zones.
- To assist traffic movement during times of high use.
Drop and Go Zone
This zone is along the front of the school adjacent to the school and ELC entrances and in front of the hall. This is where ELC parents drop their children off before and pick them up after school. Parents are not allowed to park in this zone and escort their child on to school grounds.
Car Parks
There are three car parks provided for parents to use. The first of these is at the front of the school. The second is on the southern end of the school towards Harrison Oval and is includes a gravel area, while the third area is inside the gates and on, or next to, the basketball courts. The car park on the basketball court is closed at approximately 9.30am every morning and re-opens at approximately 2.30pm every afternoon. It is not intended for long term use.
The Three C’s of Parking
The school uses five C’s as the basis of our student welfare policy. Three of these apply to parents when entering or exiting the school grounds in vehicles. These are:
Considerate
Our first consideration is to the students and their safety. Our students range in age from 4 to 12 years of age. They do, at times, do the unexpected and are hard to see. Parents are asked to be extra vigilant when driving on our grounds and when escorting students to parked vehicles.
Regular uses of our school car parks tend to know the routine. There are times when we get new people, such as grandparents, trying to pick up children and find the process and number of cars daunting. We ask parents to show consideration to new families and visitors.
Calm
There are times when traffic is banked up and it is very slow exiting the school. With one exit and a lot of pedestrian traffic also holding up traffic flow, parents are asked to stay calm.
Courteous
While we do have staff directing traffic after school, we do not do this before school. Parents are asked to be courteous by letting all car parks have a chance to exit the school. Let cars move in front of you if they have been stuck at their exit for a while. Please also let cars reverse out of their car parking areas when trying to exit the school.
Please Note
- We request for parents NOT to make a right hand turn when exiting from the carpark during the hours of 8.30am-9.00am and 3.00pm-3.30pm. This is to assist with the flow of traffic exiting the school and so as to not hold up all traffic behind you.
- Parents that are in no rush may find it easier to pick their children up at 3.15pm. By this time the line is flowing well and the wait will not be as long. Please note ALL children need to be picked up by 3.30pm. If this is not able to be done you are asked to use the facilities of before and after school care.