Most students will ride a school bus at least once during their educational experience, making bus safety a key facet of their educational wellbeing. School Bus Safety Week is October 21- 25 and is an opportunity to recognize the importance of safe practices as a community and the role we all play in keeping riders safe on the bus and ready to learn when they arrive at school.
Our local bus companies employ drivers and monitors who are dedicated to student safety. Bus Driver & Monitor Appreciation Day is Wednesday, October 23, 2024, and is a great opportunity for schools and families to acknowledge all the work their bus driver/monitor does daily. A small gesture of thanks goes a long way to show how much families value their transportation providers. Schools and families may consider sharing small tokens of appreciation such as this colouring page or gift cards. A simple “thank you” at the bus stop can also have a big impact.
Below is a brief description about each of Tri-Board’s bus safety programs available to schools. Parents are encouraged to ask school administration about the date of these events.
BUS EVACUATION TRAINING
We can arrange for the entire school to be trained on how to safely evacuate a school bus, which is good knowledge for students in all grades to have, even if they do not ride the bus regularly except for field trips.
FIRST TIME RIDER
Well before a JK or new student takes the bus to school, they can experience what it is like and learn some basic bus safety. Schools can request a bus and driver to attend their open house/welcome nights in the spring and summer so that students and their families can become familiar with the bus before the school year begins.
PRESENTATIONS BY INTERTRAIN
Intertrain is the provincial leader in bus safety presentations for students in JK to Grade 8. Tri-Board has worked with Intertrain for many years and values their interactive and comprehensive presentations. Intertrain books directly with schools in the spring before the school year.
BUS PATROLLER PROGRAM
CAA’s Bus Patroller Program is for responsible students in grades 5 to 8. These students are trained to assist bus drivers and monitors on the bus daily and in the event of an emergency. Training is complete for the 2024-2025 school year, but registration for next year will be available to schools in May 2024.
