School where I work starts on Monday. In my capacity as the driver of the school bus, I thought I might pass on a couple of pointers to help the morning commute go a little smoother for you and your kids.
First off, for the first day and every day, show up at the bus stop a few minutes early. Our district recommends 5 minutes, but at least be a few minutes early so that you are prepared to enter the bus right away. It slows down the routes and makes everyone late if you are running up the street to catch the bus after it already gets there. Buses run on a tight schedule and it does not take much to throw that schedule off.
In relation to being a few minutes early for the bus, don’t freak out if the bus is a few minutes behind. Especially at the beginning of the year, making it to the stops on time can be difficult in part because of the above mentioned issue. Just continue to wait at the bus stop. Also don’t call the bus office unless the bus is grossly late by 10 minutes or more. They will be very busy and usually by the time they take the time to get me on the radio, I am there.
Parents, if its your child’s first day on the bus, make your pictures quick. The bus route does not allow time for you to pose your child for that perfect shot. Plan it out ahead of time and make it quick. The driver may allow a short second to take a pic, but they will start getting upset if you take too long. It also delays the other 59 kids who also have to go to school so please be considerate of others.
If your child is going to school with a soccer ball or baseball and mitt, please have them put these items into a bag or into their backpacks. These items have a tendency to be thrown around the bus when not put away causing a safety issue. Things like bats or hockey sticks are not allowed on the bus and will be confiscated upon entry. These are obvious hazards to the other students even in horseplay.
At least for my bus, trading cards are not allowed. Cards like pokemon end up being fought over by the students and cause many students to get out of their seats. On the bus we try to keep safety issues to a minimum. Trading cards must be kept put away while riding the bus.
Also, be sure to go over some of the common bus rules with your kids before they ride the bus. Any bus has the rules of stay seated, keeps hands to yourself, no eating, no drinking, use indoor voices, no hitting, and the like. Helping your kids to understand what is expected will make their bus riding experience much more fun. After all, their school day starts on the bus and ends on the bus.
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing this. On the MAIN street near my house there's this mutant kid and his mom. He's gotta be 16 or so but he looks like one of those kids you hear about that one day goes postal. Or lives in his mom's basement 'til he's 80. Anyway, I swear to you, the bus stops and waits as this mom coaxes her son out onto the porch, then checks to make sure he has everything, handing him his lunch box, then FINALLY sends him toward the bus. Meanwhile, cars are backing up for a half a mile or so while they live out their little adventure. You'd think the boy would run up the driveway toward the bus once he saw all that but nope. He takes his sweet time.
Drives me crazy! I've learned what time all this happens and I go the long way now if I'm running late. If the kid is not at the stop or well on his way there, and hauling butt to get there, I say the bus should leave him. Otherwise, it will never change. You can bet if he got left once he'd be sure to get his lazy butt out there on time from then on.
That sounds like one where I would have the office call the Mom and remind her that they need to be ready BEFORE the bus arrives. We would start documenting times and eventually he could lose his bus privilege. That kind of stuff effects literally hundreds of people from the kids on the bus, the people waiting, the school staff, work staffs of those late because of waiting for the stupid kid, etc...
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