Playground After School

Dear Star of the Sea Families,

When I began my role as Principal at Star of the Sea School seven years ago, one of my goals was to continue building a strong sense of community and to create opportunities for children to develop friendships through play. Our playground was designed with this vision in mind, and it has been a tremendous success. Every day, dozens of children and their parents gather after school to play, connect, and build relationships. It is wonderful to see our school community come together in this way.

There is, however, one very important rule for after-school playground use: Parents must actively supervise their own children at all times.

This rule is first and foremost about safety. There is no staff supervision on the playground after school. Parents and guardians must be present, attentive, and ready to intervene when necessary to ensure their children are safe and to help promote kind, respectful, and peaceful play.

Unfortunately, there have been occasions when children have been left unattended or when parents have not been actively monitoring their children. This creates safety concerns that we cannot ignore. Simply being on school property, sitting in a vehicle, or being occupied on a phone does not constitute active supervision.

As Principal, the safety and well-being of our children is my primary responsibility. If we continue to experience situations where children are playing without appropriate parental supervision, I may have no choice but to close the playground to after-school use.

I truly do not want this to happen.

Our playground is a special place. It is a place where friendships grow, families connect, and our school community thrives. I want it to remain open, lively, welcoming, and safe for everyone.

I am asking for your partnership and support in making sure that every child is properly supervised after school. By working together and taking this responsibility seriously, we can preserve this wonderful opportunity for our children and families.

Thank you for your understanding, your cooperation, and your continued commitment to making Star of the Sea such a wonderful community.

Warmly,

Mr. Jason Borkowski

Principal