MOOSE JAW — Dozens of children who will attend their first day of school this September had the opportunity recently to ride the bus and learn how the big yellow vehicle works.
Holy Trinity Catholic School Division and Prairie South School Division teamed up to offer the First Rider Program on Aug. 14, with kids and parents attending an event at either Lindale or St. Margaret schools.
The program is a fun learning experience that introduces children to school bus safety, including crossing the street and proper ways to get on and off the bus.
Entering kindergarten at Sunningdale School this fall is Peter Hill, 5, who attended the event at Lindale with his mom and little brother. Although a little shy, Hill — with help from his mom — this was his first time riding the bus, and he was excited for school.
Continuing, he said he had played at Sunningdale School’s playground over the summer and enjoyed the new equipment.
“It’s pretty nice to play on,” Hill remarked, noting he loved the monkey bars, since he could reach them while standing on the ground.
The five-year-old added that he was uncertain how buses operated but was most interested in learning how the doors worked.
Before kids and their parents walked onto the buses to take a short ride, several dignitaries spoke during a brief ceremony.
Mayor James Murdock said that everyone needed to remember that every day, as children rode the bus, it was a new “learning adventure.” He then encouraged the kids to listen to their bus drivers and remain seated until the vehicle arrived safely at school — and back home again.
“You’re very fortunate. I’ll tell you that I’m so old, we didn’t have school buses when I went to school,” the mayor joked, prompting much laughter from the adults. “So I had to walk; can you imagine that?”
Murdock added — slightly sarcastically — that the first day of school might be difficult for parents, but it was the start of “good things” for the kids.
Salena Marceau, the transportation manager with Holy Trinity, engaged with the students energetically while discussing safety tips. She told them to cross the street at the corners, to stay back from the bus doors, to not enter the vehicle without a driver, to hold onto the stair rail, to keep their body parts inside and to not eat or drink.
“We care about you,” she stated.
Marceau then told the parents that they should ask their kids daily how the bus ride was, since that experience can be different from their class. She added that the divisions also conduct bus evacuations and drills when the driver passes out twice a year.
Supt. Rick McKenna, with the Moose Jaw Police Service, said the first day of school would likely be exciting for most students, and there would be many things happening. So, he thought the First Rider program was a great opportunity to review the safety rules beforehand and show the parents what was expected of their children.
Continuing, he said the buses are “pretty big” and they’re sometimes difficult to see around, so there were proper ways for the kids to enter and exit safely. He added that students should also say hello to the resource officers when they see them at school.
Todd Johnson, PSSD’s transportation manager, said that daily, the division transports roughly 2,700 students, and the buses travel over 19,000 kilometres.
Continuing, he said Prairie South is ready to transport children to the new joint-use school since all six routes are mapped out, while parents will soon learn when their children’s pickup and drop-off times are and the locations. Bus drivers will also soon become familiar with the routes.
He noted that buses will transport the Catholic students first and then the public students second, based on the start times at each building.
“The school is beautiful. It’s going to be a change, but … it’s fantastic for City of Moose Jaw and for Prairie South and … Holy Trinity as well,” Johnson added.
