Safety Stars

As part of your National School Bus Safety Week events, hold a breakfast meeting for bus drivers to reinforce safe practices. Use it as an opportunity to discuss any new transportation-related issues (perhaps a new state law) as well. Serve up fruit, whole-wheat bagels, coffee and orange juice for all to enjoy while you speak. At the end, thank drivers for their hard work and hand out “Safety Is The Key” Metal Carabiner Key Holders/ Flashlights and “I’m A Safety Star” Stress Relievers.

Off The Bus

Don’t let school bus safety end when students exit the bus. Bring it into your school building! Several weeks before National School Bus Safety Week, hold a meeting with teachers to discuss combining school bus safety with classroom lessons and character education. Provide teachers with “My Character Matters” 5-Pencil Sets to help them incorporate bus safety in their lesson plans. Then put “Celebrate School Bus Safety Week” Balloons near the main entrance of your school so children can see them as they enter during National School Bus Safety Week.

Acting Out

Raise awareness of school bus safety with a special assembly for students. Hold the event in your school’s gymnasium or auditorium at the beginning of National School Bus Safety Week. At the front of the room, set up chairs in rows, similar to the seating arrangement on a bus. Have teachers and bus drivers act out bus-related situations such as sharing a seat, keeping things out of the aisle and being respectful to fellow bus riders. Go over emergency procedures as well. Ask for student volunteers to help demonstrate the scenarios. Give each of them stickers from our Bus Safety Assortment Stickers or Good Character Assortment Stickers that coincide with the parts they perform. Pass out Evacuation Drill Stickers to all students who attend.

Daily Reminder

Help keep school bus safety on the minds of bus riders and bus drivers throughout National School Bus Safety Week. In advance, give bus drivers enough “Be Cool, Follow School Bus Safety Rules” Glow-In-The-Dark Silicone Bracelets and “Caught Being Good On The Bus” Zipper Pulls for all students on their buses. On Monday morning, have drivers pass out the bracelets to students, with a request to wear them every day of the week. The bus drivers should keep track of which students wear their bracelets as requested. On Friday, each child who did so should be rewarded with a School Bus Zipper Pull.