To the Car....

To the car that almost ran me over today, I just want to say that I love my life, I would like to keep on living it, I have two children & a husband who need me to stay alive, therefore please stop at the big red stop signs that Carrie & I are both holding up.

Not only were you in the wrong line, but then when I motioned for you to move forward to me, & point/motion for you to stop at my stop sign, if I wouldn't have jumped backwards, you would've run me right over! And there were witnesses. Many, many witnesses! Carrie (the one holding the other stop sign), James, who was walking with a big orange cone parallel to you, the car coming out of the school that almost got hit because you didn't stop, & the woman standing at the crosswalk waiting to cross, not to mention the security cameras that are rolling all the time outside of the school.

Miss, I suggest that the next time you see a big red stop sign, you actually stop. Would you have hit me, you're family would sure be missing you because you would've been fried!

~Anneliese

Hump Day! & Happy Veteran's Day

Good morning & Happy Hump Day!!

Today was a very weird morning! We had all kinds of things going on & not all of them good! Let's see, where should we start.

To the people who pull a u-turn right in front of the school, you can't do this! Number 1, it's a school zone during drop off! There are hundreds of people going in and coming out of the school. The possibility of you causing an accident is pretty high especially during these peak hours! Number 2, there are  people who are waiting in line. They may not be right there at that moment, but the crossing guards a few feet in front of you have stopped them to allow the walkers to cross the street. Don't be rude & cut in line of those people who have been waiting. Number 3, you may not know this, but the sheriff has asked us to get licence plate numbers of the offenders and send them to her, which I did to the gentleman who decided to pull a u-turn this morning. We know who the other offenders are, so we will be getting those numbers as well. So if you see one of the crossing guards with a phone in her hand, we are not chatting away or texting, when our phones are out we are using the cameras to catch offenders.

What makes this morning's u-turn incident a bit funny is that after I got a picture of his licence plate when he came out of the school he rolled down his window & commented on our cool (camel) hats. Carrie & I looked at each other & agreed that he probably saw us get his licence plate number & was trying to sweet talk us. It didn't work, pal!

We had another person sitting in the carpool line & must've waited there a bit because she was in it! At the very last minute, she decided to go straight as cars were coming out of the school. I had to quickly stop her to avoid an accident & then advised her the flow of traffic in the morning. She was a bit embarrassed, but I bet she doesn't do that again.

We had a mother decide to drop her child off right at our crosswalk! Pulled right up to the crosswalk & stopped, then let her child out of the car who immediately started to cross the street while cars are coming out of the school! Carrie kept asking the child to get back onto the sidewalk, but he stayed standing right in the street! She spoke to the mother & advised her that she cannot do this that she needs to either get in the carpool line or go to the pool & drop them off there. Her comment back to Carrie, "Oh, we were just running late this morning." Sorry, if everyone did that it would be mad chaos every morning! Why do you think that the rules don't apply to you? The funny thing about this is that we still had a steady stream of cars going into the school. She wouldn't have been late.

On a positive note, it is Wednesday so the camels make an appearance! In fact, in honor of Veteran's day, George (my camel) was sporting an American Flag. We had a gentleman stop behind us, roll down the window, and say, "What's up with the camels?" We yelled, "It's Hump Day!" He laughed & said, "Of course!" We also had a woman roll down her window and say, "I feel every big of Wednesday already this morning, but seeing you guys & your hats, it always puts a smile on my face." Then our dear friend Kim made some comments that I am not able to put here, but if you use your imagination about camels, I'm pretty sure you can guess what she said. ;)  But they made us smile. Those happy comments, & people waving & laughing with us, that is what makes this job fun. It is what you make it, right?

And we have not forgotten the Veteran's out there. Thank you for all that you do and have done for our country. We appreciate your service & the price that you paid for our freedom!

~Anneliese

Impending Rain Makes You Forget

The skies were quite dark today with the threat of rain, so we were all in our rain gear waiting. Ms. Ricks announced that she was going to open the kindergarten wing for drop off as well, but I'm not sure that that actually happened. But she did start the drop off line super early this morning, before everyone was there & before the safety patrol were in their spots. She started the cars rolling at about 7:45! Made for a long morning! But I think the impending rain may have made people forget what certain things mean...

I know that in front of the school there are not two specific, marked out lanes for traffic flow in the morning & afternoon, but there is a sign indicating to form a right lane to turn into the school & a left lane for through traffic. If you see that sign, & you see the flow of traffic, why would you sit in the lane that isn't moving if you need to go straight.

Today we had at least 5-10 cars in the wrong lane, so we think that they are turning into the school, but at the last minute try to go straight. Then they roll their eyes, throw their hands up in the air, & everything else when we have them stop because we are allowing the school traffic out of the school.

And I also think that some people forgot what the big red thing with the word "stop" on it, that we hold up in the air, is. We can be standing right in front of the cars, with our signs up, & people will still keep moving without stopping. A man today did just that. I pointed at my sign because through traffic was coming, & he rolled his eyes at me & shook his head. Okay, dude. You can go, but I'm not responsible when this truck coming hits you.

Also, there is one gentleman who insists on doing a u-turn in front of the school to avoid having to go around to get into the carpool line. I do believe the sheriff needs to see that one! But the thing is, she was sitting about 100 yards away, facing the other direction. I wonder if he would've done it if he had seen her.

And to the impatient man walker, who makes underhanded comments about having to wait, please... Here is my stop sign, feel free to stand out here & do what we do for one morning. Watch for the tags, watch for the people who don't follow the rules, the people who don't stop, & everything else. We are sorry if you have to wait for one minute as we clear out traffic, but dude, would you rather us keep you safe or get you across the street fast?

Sorry for the complaints. It's early dismissal today so I'm sure there will be lots of yahoo's this afternoon who don't normally do pick up. We shall see....

Have a fabulous day!!
~Anneliese

My Little Friend in the Green Car

A lot of our posts are pointing out what went wrong, or how people react or do certain things. Well, I want to mention something that happens each morning that puts a smile on my face. 

Every day there is a Katy ISD employee, a dad, that drives through the front of the school to drop his child off in the staff parking lot. The windows are usually down, & we all wave, & are polite.

One day the boy in the back seat has his hand out the window but is looking toward the school. The car is going slow & I reach out & tap the boy's hand. Cara was with me at the time, & she started laughing like crazy! She said that I had scared him & the look on his face was priceless!! 

Now every day as they drive by, his little hand is hanging out the window waiting for me to high five him, with a big smile on his face! Honestly, I look for him each day! It brightens my morning & I know he gets a kick out of it too. Carrie has now started it as well, so he is double lucky! 

Thank you, little boy in the green car, for helping to start our day out a little bit brighter!

gettyimages

Have a great day! 

--Anneliese

Why?

I guess we all have our pet peeves. Well, I have a huge one in my crossing guard world. It is very chaotic & a mess in the morning & afternoon in front of Wolman Elementary. Cars turning right everywhere, people trying to turn left, people crossing in the crosswalk, honestly, just chaos!

I am all for people walking, jogging, running or whatever. But may I ask, why would you decide to run right in front of the school during drop-off or pick-up hours? Honestly. I really would like to know this. There is not a crosswalk in the driveway of the school. There are cars coming in, there are cars going out, yet people run/walk/jog right there! It really does mess things up. The two crossing guards out front are directing traffic & people in four different lanes. We have to leave our positions to come stop traffic where we don't normally stop traffic, just so that these walkers/joggers/runners can cross where they aren't supposed to. This could be a disaster! For the jogger/walker/runner if they decide to go without our help, for the cars turning in & out for having to stop where they aren't looking for a crossing guard or don't normal stop, & for the crossing guards nerves at avoiding an accident. It just really makes me nervous.

I would have two suggestions. Either walk/run/jog before or after the drop-off/pick-up times to avoid the traffic, or else walk/run/jog somewhere else other than in front of the school. Cross the street at N. & S. Firethorne & walk/run/jog behind me! On the opposite side of the street. You won't have to worry about traffic there. Firethorne is a huge development, I'm sure other routes would be fine.

If you know anybody who is guilty of this, please mention this alternative. It would really help.

Thanks & have a great day!!!

Holy Wind, Batman!!!

As we watched the rain come down most of the day, it suddenly stopped just in time for school dismissal. However, the wind was out in full force! We were having to hold our stop signs at the top to avoid them from bending in half or smacking us in the face. In fact, one mom pulled in & rolled down her window to say something to me, & I wasn't paying attention, & the stop sign smacked me in the face! We got through it & are sooo ready for the weekend!

From your favorite crossing guards at Wolman Elementary, we would like to wish you a very safe & happy Halloween!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

What a Morning!

After yesterdays Daybreak with Dad's I thought that this morning would be smooth sailing. Boy was I mistaken! It just seemed to be one thing after another. I am writing this blog post with my hands still shaking & my heart beating out of my chest. Carrie may even still have goosebumps!

At 7:45 am, the dads begin to leave. No problem. Walkers, drivers, everybody going just fine. At 7:50 am, the car rider line begins to move. We are doing just fine. Things are a little slow, but moving. We are crossing people in the crosswalk between cars again, but things are moving. We had a very big back up of the N. Firethonre through traffic heading towards 1463, but once they were through, we got things moving again.

Carrie & I are letting the school traffic out & have our stop signs up to stop through traffic heading toward 1463. A lady totally doesn't stop at all. She gets so close to me that my stop sign is on her windshield! She almost ran over my toes! That is how close she was to me. Carrie was jumping up down with her stop sign, & the woman was oblivious! These people need to pay attention! Watch the crossing guards, look for the bright yellow, obey the stop signs that are in our hands! Lady, if you would've hit me, especially with my stop sign high in the air, you would've been handed a hefty ticket! This is the first time that an incident as crossing guard brought tears to my eyes. I could barely concentrate after that, & was 100% shaking, heart in my throat!

We had five cars who, I guess, didn't feel they needed to go get at the end of the drop off line, they decided they needed to turn around right in front of the school after they passed our cones! Just turned around & cut in line! Five people! How rude is that!!!

We had a few cars in the drop off line who decided at the very last minute that they didn't have a child in their car to drop off, so they swerved to go straight. That's always nice when you're not ready for them or think that they're turning into the school.

And the biggest thing to happen this morning is that due to Daybreak with Dads, or maybe the increasing traffic on 1463, we had cars backed up from 1463 all the way to the school driveway. Just stopped. So Carrie & I switched the cone & started directing people left out of the school. So they were heading toward S. Firethorne rather than 1463. It cleared some of the congestion, but you will never guess who was in that left turn bit of traffic. Yes, our right turn only friend in the tan truck! Hmpfh.

Anyway, positive note, it was Superhero Day!! Most of us had our superhero capes on & I guess those superhero powers helped us direct that crazy traffic today! Becuase something helped us through this morning's craziness!!!

It is supposed to storm today, so we may have a fun afternoon ahead of us!

Happy Friday! & Happy day before Halloween!!!
~Anneliese

So....

So....

The woman from yesterday did call Ms. Kovar today & complained that we would not let her turn left at 4:03 pm. She also proceeded to say that we were racists because we let the person behind her turn left (the person behind her was several minutes later after we took the cones in). She told Ms. Kovar that she did not drive a tan truck & she does not throw her hands in the air or speed out of the drive & turn around in the middle of the street. (All lies of course--even my kids witnessed it yesterday). She said that we should let her turn left because she needs to be somewhere at 4:30 pm -- and there you have it folks. The anger is because you have to be somewhere.

 

Thankfully Ms. Kovar stood behind us 100% & said that we put our lives on the line out there on a daily basis. The sign says 4:10 & if we are still out there then we are doing our job. Once the cones are in, people can do whatever they want, but when we are out there the rules apply. She said she was on the phone with her for 38 minutes! She kept repeating herself & Ms. Kovar kept standing behind us. All I can say is that THANK GOODNESS I sent that email yesterday!

 

We did witness her come out of the school very slowly today, turn right, then proceed to turn around & drive very slowly past us. She followed the rules today.

 

I can't help but think what kind of an example that sets for her kids. For her behavior & the way she acts like that. Her kids see that & they will think it is okay to break the rules, then pitch a fit because you got caught breaking the rules. Teaching them that rules don't apply.

 

I am still upset up this (as you can tell) & can't seem to shake it. I'm not even PMSing!! 

Thanks guys! I love having the support of you behind me!

xoxoxoxo

liese

Daybreak With Dads & Generation Day

Carrie & I survived our very first Daybreak with dads. Boy was that a crazy morning! Not typical at all! Since everyone was leaving at 7:45 am, traffic was at a stand still quite a few times. All the dads leaving at one time, others trying to bring their kids to school, the buses coming in & out, then the regular traffic as well. We were crossing people through the stopped traffic! Everyone got around safe and sound, without any incidents. But guess what, we get to do this again tomorrow! 

On another note, today was Generation Day & the kids were able to dress as their favorite generation. Well, I bet the kids had no idea what each generation was about, but the parents sure had fun dressing up their kids! It was so much fun watching the kids in the crosswalk today with afros & fringe for disco; big hair, bracelets & boots for the 80s; poodle skirts for the 50s; peace signs for the 70s.... it was fun! 

Carrie & I couldn't let the kids have all the fun so we, of course, joined in! Carrie rockin' the 80s complete with shocking blue eyeliner, 2 different earrings, layers, & lace gloves (and darn proud of it), & me in my poodle skirt, bo-bo's, & scarf. 

Tomorrow, another Daybreak with Dads, & Superhero day!
Until next time.
--Anneliese

Angry Parent

I know that I have mentioned to you about a parent who feels the need to turn left each & every afternoon. Well, today we had an incident that prompted us to contact Ms. Kovar to address the situation. The woman pulled up to the cone that's there to prevent left-hand turns. Carrie is waving her to turn right, but the woman is still sitting there at the cone like she is waiting for us to move it. I am standing by the sign that says Right Turn Only pointing to it, & she is raising her hands in disgust. After a bit of this, she finally turns right, drives a couple of yards down the road & does a u-turn right in the middle of the street, speeding as she does so. She comes back around, turns back into the school, parks, & walks in. We know exactly what is going to happen here, so it prompted the following email to Ms. Kovar: 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there Ms. Kovar,

I just wanted to bring an issue to your attention that we have with a specific parent each & every afternoon.

 

As you know, the signs around the school say "Right Turn Only" between certain hours. Of course, we have the parents every morning & afternoon who try to make the left-hand turns out of the school driveway. We have added a cone to try to avoid any confusion & it has proven to be quite helpful.

 

Unfortunately, we have a lady in a tannish/brown smaller pick-up truck that tries to turn left almost every afternoon. She will pull right up to the cone that we have there to avoid left turns like she wants us to move it. We always direct her to turn right, but she always throws her hands in the air, speeds out of the parking lot, then proceeds to either speed through the teacher parking lot to turn around a make a left turn, or as she did today, turn around right in the middle of the street. Obviously, today she did the same, but we noticed that she had been parked in a parking spot in front of the school prior to her coming out. We also saw her turn back into the school & walk in, most likely to complain about us.

 

We are out there to keep everyone safe, and direct traffic according to the school rules. When we are not out there, we don't care what they do, but when we are out there our first priority is to keep everyone safe & follow the rules. Unfortunately, with her anger & actions she is putting people at risk. With her gunning it out of the parking lot, turning around, then speeding past us, it could be a disaster one day.  I know I can speak for all of the crossing guards, that we like to have fun, yes, but we take our jobs very seriously, and this has become a concern to us. 

 

I'm not sure if there is anything that you can do about this, but I just wanted to bring it to your attention & let you know what has been happening. I have copied Carrie because she has been there with me & witnessed it for the past week, Cara because she has seen it as well, & Laura because I believe she was with me one day when the woman did the same thing.  

 

Thank you for taking the time to "hear" us.

Have a wonderful day!

Anneliese Grassi

 

Dadpocolypse

It's coming!!! Dadpocolypse!!!   What is it you ask??  It's Daybreak With Dad.  Be prepared people tomorrow and Friday morning are going to look like there has been a famine and the only food available is at the school.  There will be mayhem!   Dads who have never dealt with the morning school routine will be running rampant with no clue as to where to park or walk all for a piece of dry pastry that some generous grocery store has graciously donated.   Dads from all over the land will congregate with their child in the cafeteria with 500 others for this very special event. 

If your husband isn't one of those who is the normal parent who takes your child to school please advise them on what the rules are regarding traffic around the school, where to park, etc. We ask that you please use the crosswalks as well.  Please be nice and appreciative to all the Wolman Staff and volunteers who make this wonderful event happen.  If you can't do that, there is a wonderful donut shop at the front of the neighborhood that will be a lot less crowded and better parking. 

In all seriousness, be careful out there and please obey the Crossing Guards directions!  One person that decides the rules don't apply to them really messes it up for everyone else. 

That's all for today, make it a great one!

Cara

Interesting Morning, to Say the Least!

Good morning & happy HUMP DAY! Anneliese, here (I have to do that now since my fellow CG's are posting too). 

Spirit week continues at the school & today is orange & black day. The Wolman Elementary Crossing Guards did not disappoint again!  Several of us sported orange & black socks:

Carrie was wearing black with a fabulous orange feather boa, and even George (my camel) got in on the fun. Of course he didn't want to be left out!! 

All kidding aside, it was an unusual day as far as traffic was concerned. Carrie & I are standing in front of the school, doing our thing, we are allowing the traffic to flow out of the school turning right. I am standing in the middle of the oncoming traffic lane (I know, a big no-no) with my stop sign up. UP! A big white pick up truck isn't stopping. Not even watching, he litterally comes within inches of my face! He almost hits me! Maybe you should pay attention to your surroundings. You are in a school zone, for crying out loud! STOP when the Crossing Guard has the stop sign UP! You know, that big red thing with the word STOP in the middle!!

We had another lady in a BMW speed up N. Firethorne in front of the school, I mean fast! I swear she entered the school drive on two wheels, that's how fast she was going. Which would you rather, your child be safe & a few minutes late to school, or you roll your vehicle trying to get him there on time? Good grief!

We had another yahoo speed through this morning, certainly not doing 20. I think Carrie & I both yelled to slow down. I guess he didn't notice the three or five speed limit 20 signs that he passed on cones & on signs on the road.

We had another jogger cross in front of the school through traffic this morning (stay tuned for a "pet peeve" post in the days to come). There is no cross walk, & cars are flowing in & out of the school. Not a very safe or smart place to jog during school drop off or pick-up.

We also had two very big construction type trucks go through this morning. The exhaust that they left...whew...it's a wonder that you didn't find Carrie & I passed out from them. They were thick, stinky, & just horrible. Blah!

We had an unusual encounter yesterday. For the first time ever I stopped a golf cart in front of the school. It was during pick-up yesterday afternoon & they weren't picking up, they were just driving through the school zone. They were in the through traffic lane & I had to stop them to allow the cars out of the school. Hadn't had that happen before.

All right, peeps. I really need to get to my other job now (transcription). I enjoy telling you about my experiences & hopefully when this blog goes virial (LOL!!) people will have an understanding of what safety is all about & what we deal with on a daily basis, & that rules really do apply to everyone!

Have a good one!!
Anneliese & George the Camel

Ignorance Must Be Bliss!

 Hey Peeps!  This is Cara, posting my first ever blog post!

I have been at this Crossing Guard gig for almost 4 years now.  Things never cease to amaze me out there on the streets.  This job ain't for sissies!

Yesterday, Anneliese was busy puking up a lung at home with the rest of her family as there is a nasty stomach virus going around.  James, one of our other Crossing Guards, and now the only man on the team, bless his poor estrogen enriched soul, was also out for the day. Needless to say, even though Carrie is now on board, we were still down two Crossing Guards.  This left me dealing with the car pool line rather than my mostly blissful staff parking lot spot.  So, yesterday afternoon I am by myself directing 3 directions of  traffic and walking kids.  A lady is coming from what is typically the moving lane of traffic and I have her stopped to cross my pack of heathens... I mean children (just kidding, they are all awesome) as I am standing in the middle of the street, stop sign up, blood running out of my arm, she decides it's her turn to roll.  I stop her, and tell her "please watch the sign".   Her response, "I thought you were going to walk across with them".  Well, my dear, great excuse, but I don't know if you realized my team of ghosts can't seem to manage the traffic on their own, so it's basically up to me.  And still, there is a stop sign in your face. Don't assume.. cuz well you know what they say about that!

Today, I am back in my mostly blissful parking lot.  A mom comes blazing towards the exit.  I throw my stop sign up, somewhat for shits and giggles, because technically the kids approaching the walk way had a few seconds to get there.  I ask her to please slow down in the parking lot.  "Was I going to fast?" she says.  Um,  that sudden force throwing you towards the windshield wasn't an indication to you???   Any faster and there would have been skid marks.

Ignorance must really be bliss.  All those responsibilities a driver has through a school zone, meh.. maybe tomorrow they will be more obedient to the law.  We'll see...

Nerd Day!

Good morning! Happy Nerd Day!!

Unfortunately, yesterday the stomach bug had hit our house, so I missed camo day. Three out of the four of us were down & out! YUCK!!  Today we are all on the mend, & back to semi-normal. Eating is limited, but we are up & with the living again. I would like to say thank you to my fellow Crossing Guards for filling in the gaps & making everything work in my (& James) absence! And for coming to my aide offering to take/pick up kids, bring me things if needed, etc. That's what I call teamwork & awesome friends!

Today is nerd day. Two of our fellow crossing guards are nerds for not participating (I won't mention names, but you can figure it out), but Carrie & I were in full force! Glasses, pig-tails, alfalfa's, high waters, argyle, bowties, the works! Carrie, you & I rocked the nerd look today!  See for yourself:

As for any issues today, Carrie & I had a very smooth day, but Cara, in the teacher parking lot, had a woman speed through it & have to slam on her breaks to a screeching halt at her stop sign. Yes, Cara took care of it & told her to slow it down in the parking lot. And, yes, of course, the woman acted surprised like she didn't know she was speeding.

OH!!! By the way, I want to point out the sign in the back, the one behind Carrie & I.... If you can zoom in a bit, this is what it says:  RIGHT TURN ONLY 7:50am - 8:50am, 3:10pm - 4:10pm.  I just wanted to point that out.....

I have invited my fellow Crossing Guard Peeps to join me in blogging. So you will start to see posts from Cara, Carrie, & Laura now too! Feel free to leave us comments. We would love to hear from you!

And there you have it. Another day in the life of a Crossing Guard!

Crossing Guard's Have Fun Too!

This weekend  great friends & neighbors, Courtney & Kelly, had a Halloween party, which was awesome! Everyone was in costume, the decorations were incredible, the food was out of this world, & the company was even better. The Crossing Guards had a chance to hang out, talk (not about work), & look amazing in our costumes! Wouldn't you agree? 

Cara, Carrie, Laura, Anneliese

This week is spirit week at school, with each day being a theme. I can't wait to see all the kiddos in the spirit, and who knows, maybe us Crossing Guards will also have a wee bit of fun!

Have a wonderful week!!

Happy Friday!

It has been pretty quiet on the crossing guard front. Cara is back to her position at the school parking lot, Carrie is now with me & we are working on our communication & getting into our groove, & all the people dropping off & picking up have been on pretty good behavior. We have the same grey pick-up truck that tries to make a left hand turn out of the school every single afternoon. She drives right up to the cone prohibiting people from doing so, and every day I point/wave for her to turn right. And every day she throws her hands up and yells at me. Yes, every day. One of these days I am going to have to walk over to the sign & point it out to her.....you know...the one she is right next to as she is yelling at me.

Anyway... This morning we had three people try & turn left out of the school, but the cone & the flow of traffic wouldn't allow it so they did turn left. Two people tried to turn left into the school, but Carrie did a fantastic job diverting them. However, a third gentleman who didn't like Carrie waving him through drove about 100 yards past me and did a u-turn right there in front of the school, cut in front of all of the cars that had been waiting in line, then turned into the school.  The correct way, but a very rude way of getting in and cutting in line. I said it to Carrie too, that it was rude that he did that with all the people waiting. His window was down...I hope he heard me. Where is the sheriff when you need her?

Also, Carrie had her first heart race experience today! When she was stopping traffic to have walkers walk, someone in a Severn Trent Services vehicle was not stopping! She had her stop sign up, I had mine up. He finally did stop, but unfortunately Carrie was awfully close to the front of that truck when it finally did stop. I think she had to yell for him to actually stop. Whew! Again, people, the big red sign that we are holding, it says STOP!

http://www.zazzle.com/crossing+guard+ornaments

You can tell that Cara is back in her spot because she stops traffic to allow for the buses in & out of the parking lot. Not a bad thing as the buses need to get in there, but it backs up traffic where we are. No big deal, just different than how her sub did things.

I think that is it. It has been threatening rain all week. I bring my umbrella hat out there every single day but haven't had the chance to wear it. I should just do it for fun. I am itching to wear that thing!  LOL!!

I am anticipating a lot to write about next Friday because it is Daybreak with Dads at the school. People will be parked all over the place & there will be an overabundance of cars that day. I'm actually a little bit scared! Stay tuned for that!

Have a fabulous day! It's Friday!!!!

Welcome Carrie!!!

Good morning! Today, Wednesday, we added to our crossing guard team. She is another mother, & friend, & she will do a great job. We gave her a good hazing by making her wear the camel on her first day on the job! It is Wednesday - HUMP DAY - isn't it? 

When you see her when you're driving by, give her a big wave and/or honk!

Welcome to the team, Carrie!!

They'll Learn

Good morning!

It was a pretty okay morning, it seemed that everyone was following the rules & doing what they were supposed to, with the exception of the big mixer trucks that think the speed limit doesn't apply to them & speed through the 20mph school zone doing well over that! My cohort, Cara, left towards the end because she wasn't feeling so hot, but my other cohort, Laura, stayed & helped me through the end of drop off.

Almost as soon as that "switch" was made, it seemed like people decided they could do what they want. Someone coming out of the school wanted to turn left, even though there is a big orange cone sitting in that lane to avoid turns & Laura & I are pointed for them to turn right. They were really determined to make that left turn & kept coming toward the cone. What? Were they going to try to drive through it?

And then, at the last minute, maybe 1 minute before the bell, the same gentleman from the other day who turned behind me into the school (the left turn) & I was yelling at him a few inches from his window... he tried it again. Only this time I was on it. I waved him through-- straight. Laura picked up on what was happening & stood, just so, & he couldn't make that left hand turn. Poor thing. He had to follow the rules & get in the proper lanes. All I can say to that one is HA!! Maybe this will teach you to follow the rules.

Other than that all is well in the crossing guard world. A new hire gets her fingerprints done tomorrow so hopefully she will be joining us very soon!! Yay!

Feel better, Cara!

And until next time, have a wonderful day & remember always -- Safety First!

Happy Hump Day From Your Favorite Crossing Guards!

Honestly, it has been pretty quiet of late. A few left turns & people not pulling being in the correct lanes, but nothing major. The only big thing I can think of is the day when I was standing at the cone to stop people from turning left, & someone tried to turn left anyway. Ha!

However, today we did have three people in a row NOT stop at mine or Cara's stop sign. We had people in the crosswalk & they just went through my stop sign & then Cara's! No regard to the big red signs with the word STOP in the middle right in front of their faces!

With that being said, maybe we were the ones that caused the most trouble today! In honor of Hump Day we were sporting these snazzy camel hats!

Not only were we making people smile (& obviously not take us seriously when we held up our stop signs), we also had multiple people stop (without a stop sign) to take our picture! People were rolling down their windows to yell, "Hump Day!" at us & a few times traffic got a little backed up. All I have to say is that being a crossing guard is a thankless job, so if we can make it a little fun & put a smile on someone's face, & keep people safe while doing it, we have done our job!

Happy Hump Day from the Crossing Guards at Wolman Elementary!

It's Been Quiet

Good morning. With James back, it's actually been a quiet week. Cara is back with me to help, so there are two of us out front again (whew!!!), and there haven't been too many mishaps. A few but not many.

I did start putting a cone in front of the left turn lane coming out of the school, so that has stopped a few people from making that left hand turn. It is also positioned in just the right way that if someone is in the drop off lane & decides to go straight, they will run into that cone & they will have to stop. I feel a little better about that cone being there to avoid any confusion or accidents. It may be a mental thing, but it has stopped a few people so far.

Like I said, just a few minor things. It seems there are quite a bit of new people this week, so they aren't quite sure where to go or how things work just  yet. You can't give them a hard time about that.

On Tuesday, we had a woman coming from S. Firethorne on N. Firethorne & heading towards 1463, not dropping off. She stopped right in front of Cara & I, rolled down her window, & began yelling at us about the crossing guards at S. & N. Firethorne. She was saying that they don't know what they're doing, that they need to direct traffic better, that she doesn't have time for this, & this went on for a bit. We just said that we were sorry, but they know what they are doing, & to obey the crossing guards. She kept right on going, discounting what we were saying, then Cara simply said, "Listen, they are the crossing guards, they know what they're doing. It is the law to listen to the crossing guard or else you could get a hefty fine. Obey the crossing guards. Have a nice day." She drove off in a huff!

She must not have liked that very much because she stopped someone else, a non-crossing guard, to let them know the same thing.

I was telling this story to someone in the library yesterday & a G.U.I.D.E. dad was there & overheard me. He said that he saw the incident on the N. & S. Firethorne corner. The woman kept pointing at the crossing guard saying she needed to turn, even with the stop sign up. There were people in the crosswalk so the C.G. kept waving the stop sign at her. The woman kept pointing that she needed to turn. Finally the woman went around the C.G. & turned anyway!!  I guess right after that is when we got the earful. Oh well.

Today we had a woman who looked like she was coming straight through, but then put her turn signal on & cut in front of pick up line. She just got in line in front of all the people that have been waiting. That same woman tried to pass a lot of the cars in front of the school to get past them to come out of the school. Cara did have a conversation with her.

I did have a guy go around my cone this morning.... my new piece of mind cone! He was in the through lane, heading towards 1463, but didn't stop. He went into the turn into school lane and went around the new cone on the right! So that means he had to go into the school driveway a bit just to get around it. Luckily there weren't many cars or walkers at that point, so he wasn't a bother, but the point is that the cone is there for a reason.

Anyway, that's it for today so far. Nothing too exciting. New people are starting to get the hang of it, other people don't have patience & it is the crossing guards fault that they decide to come through a school zone on their way to work when there are several other ways to get out of Firethorne without even  having to go through it.

Have a fabulous day!! Be safe & OBEY YOUR CROSSING GUARDS.  ;)

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! Today I woke up, got myself ready to wave/stop/direct, went upstairs to wake the kids & the fun began. Emma woke up on the wrong side of the bed & immediately started fighting with her sister. I kid you not...30 seconds after she woke up. Then she proceeded to complain about anything that popped into her pretty lil head! Not a great start to the week...

As for school traffic drama, it was pretty quiet today. Not bad. This morning there was only one incident, & that happened very soon after I thought to myself  that everyone was behaving. Doesn't it always happen that way? And guess what they did... Any guesses? If you said turned left, you got it, but they were sneaky about it!

They were heading towards S. Firethorne on N. Firethorne. I was directing into & out of the school, no cars coming toward 1463. This gentleman stopped his car at the crosswalk, even with no people there, & I waved him through, meaning to go straight continuing to S. Firethorne. But he doesn't head towards S. Firethorne. No. He turns when my back is to him, left, into the school! I shouted, "No," multiple times, was walking along right at his window, & he wouldn't even look at me. He just kept right on turning. He could've hit me if I took a step to the right--like I do to watch for the "tags" that they put in the window to indicate the beginning of the next "load".

Again, the rules don't apply to everyone, apparently. They must be special.

Have a great night & let's see what tomorrow brings.

What does no Right Turn Only mean to you?

Good morning & happy Friday! It is the weekend! Are you ready for it? Today is a half day at school & on top of that, Super Hero Day! What fun! It was so cute to see all the Lil Super Heroes walk through my crosswalk this morning, with smiles on their faces, and the teachers enjoying themselves in full Super Hero garb! What a fun way to start the weekend!! Emma & Audra wouldn't let me borrow their capes this morning, but it was still pretty awesome to see everyone else in the spirit!

I'd like to ask you a question. If I were to say to you Right Turn Only in the school zone during certain hours, what would that mean to you? Would that mean that you turn left? Or follow directions & turn right only?

Today, I'm letting the cars TURN RIGHT out of the school, & some guy in the through traffic lane, heading toward South Firethorne, turns left into the school, right behind me!!!  I'm standing there, the cone is a few feet away from me, he could've hit me and/or the cone! But, I guess the rules don't apply to him & he felt he needed to get in front of the line of cars doing what they're supposed to do--waiting to turn right into the school.

Then, just a few minutes later, I have all traffic stopped to allow the people to cross in the crosswalk. A lady decides to 1) ignore my stop sign & go anyway; 2) to turn LEFT out of the school!  Just because no traffic is moving, doesn't mean you can do what you want! I have everything stopped for a reason! I yelled at her, but she continued to go anyway. She did pull over into a driveway, but I was by myself so I couldn't go let her know the rules (even though she passed a big sign that says RIGHT TURN ONLY!).

Rules Do Apply to Everyone

Hello. I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Anneliese Grassi, & I am the wife to Tony of almost 15 years, and the mother of two beautiful girls who are always keeping me on my toes. I was a travel agent for 26 years for American Express & Travelocity, & am now a transcriptionist & LOVE it. My hobbies are reading, crafting, TV & movies, & of course, spending time with my family.

But I am also a crossing guard for my kids school at Wolman Elementary in the Katy Independent School District. I started the beginning of this school year and it has prompted me to start a blog on my experiences at the school on a daily basis.

I honestly must say--& I am quite embarrassed to say this--I thought that becoming a crossing guard would be a cake job. You stand outside for 30 minutes to an hour, wave cars through, socialize a little bit, wave, & be on my merry way. Now having first-hand experience in being a crossing guard, I can say that that is not the case!!! It is quite a difficult job & I apologize to my fellow crossing guards for ever thinking that!

I will set the stage a little bit here in my first post so that you can have an idea of what happens, or what should happen, for the pick-up & drop-off for the school. Then I will give my account of daily occurrences, and I might have my cohorts help me in writing these as well. So, here it goes...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cars riders are to wait on North Firethorne at the entrance of the school until they are notified to enter the front of the campus. Doors to the school do not open until 8:00 am. Cars are to remain in the right-hand land to turn into the school & all through traffic should stay in the left-hand lane & follow the signs & pay attention to the crossing guards.

There is a strict right turn only rule in effect for safety reasons during the drop-off & pick-up times (except for staff & buses). All traffic makes right-hand turns only from 7:50 - 8:50 a.m & 3:10 - 4:10 p.m. This is posted several places in clear view for everyone to see.

If you are driving your child but don't want to wait in the drop off line, there are designated areas (swim team pool) to drop your child so they can safely walk into school.  You do not drop them off where ever you feel like it & have them cross the street wherever. Very unsafe!

Do not drop your child off in the teacher/bus parking lot. This causes unnecessary backup & bus drivers can't see the kids if they run through the parking lot.

Okay....so that starts off the basics. I will add as I need to during my posts. But with that being said, here is my first post from this morning's incidents:

*******************************************************************************
We are currently down two people. One has moved to another school, the other is on vacation, so we are spread a little thin.

1) I am in front of the school, at the marquis, by myself when there are normally two people. I have people waiting at the crosswalk, cars waiting to go through, & cars turning into the school & waiting to come out of the school as well. I stop the traffic coming out of the school & wave the through traffic on towards 1463 & they start to go. A man  heading toward South Firethorne has stopped at the crosswalk because he sees people standing there (thank you), but he decides to wave the walkers on through the crosswalk! I have already told the through traffic to go & was heading over there to let the walkers walk, but they need to wait until I say so, not the man in the car! Luckily the driver heading through the intersection stopped, & I got the boy who started to go back on the sidewalk, but that was a very close call!

Note: Drivers, do not communicate to walkers to cross the street. It is not your job & you don't know who I have waved through or stopped. Walkers, please do not listen to anyone other than the crossing guards when it comes to crossing the street!

2)  As mentioned above, there is a traffic pattern for pick-up & drop-off. On North Firethorne, heading toward 1463, Left lane: through traffic; right lane: turn right into the school. There are no cars in the through traffic lane so I am waving the traffic coming out of the school to turn right. The lady is hesitant, but I am waving her on. Still, no car in the through traffic lane, only the turn lane. Finally, she starts to go but at the same time a car from the turn into the school lane decides to go straight! Almost hitting me & the car turning out of the school! The car turning out of the school raises her hand & shakes her head at me like it's my fault.

Luckily, no one was hurt today, just my feeling of being unsettled when people don't follow the rules. Because if they don't follow the rules, & something happens on my watch, I'm responsible! Please follow the rules. If there is anything that you are unsure of, please ask one of the crossing guards, or call the school.

Thank you & stay tuned for more episodes of A Day in the Life of a Crossing Guard.