Dear Upper School Families – Thank you to all of you who heeded our last traffic message and have been more careful in your lane transitions on Saratoga Avenue. It seems to have made a difference, and our neighbors have noticed.   That’s the good news. Now the less-than-good news. With just a few weeks remaining in the school year, we still have four areas to work on. Please read on. Watch the Video New Initiative During “crunch time” between 7:55-8 a.m., many parents are allowing their children to exit cars not only along Davis Field, but in the front entry area. We really ask that you wait until you make it alongside Davis, but in any case, with students walking through traffic we need to ask you and them for some cooperative moves to ensure their safety. The good news is that students are walking in front of their parents’ cars as instructed. The bad news is that many of them are not doing an effective job of making eye contact with parent drivers and are endangering themselves. We are going to correct that by reminding them in an upcoming school meeting that they must establish eye contact with the drivers of all vehicles in their path, and to be patient and wait for an acknowledgment before simply walking into the path of any vehicle. That’s where you come in. We are going to ask them to begin looking for hand signals from all drivers. A “thumbs up,” an open palm, a peace sign, a wave – this will make them focus and concentrate on the drivers, and wait until they see the signal. So, help them out … keep everyone safe … and acknowledge any student’s eye contact with a positive hand gesture that tells them, “I see you, it’s safe for you to walk in front of me.” Drop Off at the Neighbors Please, do not use the La Terraza Apartment driveway and turnaround to drop off your children. La Terraza is upset that we have been unable to control this. The same applies to the Marriott Residence Inn. It is disruptive of their business and their customers, and they are not happy with us, either. Some parents continue to drop off directly on Saratoga Avenue. This is an illegal maneuver that is not safe for you and your children. Please stop! Crossing the Street We have a crossing guard working the Saratoga Avenue crosswalk. If you feel like stopping for a coffee or a donut, etc., don’t fear using the Lions’ Center as a quick stop-and-go point and sending your students across the street with the crossing guard. But Lions’ Center does not want student drivers to leave their cars there during the school day – they will tow! Speed Limits Please drive slowly on campus! This includes the speed at which you back out of a parking space. Several people have had uncomfortably close encounters and we don’t want anyone to get hit. There are only a few short weeks until AP exams and graduation, and then traffic eases a bit as the seniors move on. We want to continue to strive for safety and finish our year strong. Stay tuned for information about next fall’s amended drop-off pattern and the opening of the new parking and drop off area in January 2018! Thank you, Greg Lawson Assistant Head of School for Student Affairs greg.lawson@harker.org 408.345.600 Social Media facebook.com/harkerschool instagram.com/harkerschool youtube.com/harkerschool Contact Us 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose 95129 communications@harker.org Need more spirit wear? Shop the Eagle Store at https://eaglestore.harker.org/ Copyright © The Harker School 2024. All Rights Reserved.