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The Brampton Guardian
New students offered a chance to get familiar with buses
Wednesday August 20 2008
Local school boards are offering a free Young Rider Orientation Day this Saturday.

The sessions organized by the Peel District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board are designed to help new students feel more comfortable taking the school bus.

About 55,000 students from both boards are expected to ride a school bus each day during the coming school year. The Dufferin-Peel and Peel boards operate a joint student busing service.

Riding the bus for the first time can be a daunting experience, especially for young children.

School board officials hope the orientation day will give children confidence and reinforce the importance of bus safety with students and parents.

The program, designed for kindergarten children and their elementary-aged siblings, runs every hour between 9 a.m. and noon. During the one-hour orientation, parents and children watch a bus safety video, discuss their bus safety concerns and take a ride on a school bus.

Sessions are available at several locations. Parents can call the bus company for their area before Saturday to confirm attendance and request a time slot. In Bramalea orientation is available through Laidlaw Transit, Snelgrove at 905-857-4370 and in Brampton through Stock Transportation at 905-829-2040.

Transportation department staff are also offering some suggestions to help children feel more at ease with their first school bus experience. Parents can:
• talk about bus rides as fun adventures and avoid being anxious in front of the children
• establish a routine by taking a few walks to the bus stop before the first day of school
• keep children’s belongings organized in a backpack instead of carrying many small items
• make sure children recognize their bus stop location and carry identification in case they get lost
• teach students to obey bus safety rules, listen to the bus driver, stay seated and respect other students
• teach traffic safety and remind children to wait until the bus stops, activates its flashing lights and the stop arm and look both ways before crossing the road.
Additional bus safety information is available in “Preparing your kindergarten child to ride the school bus,” a fact sheet for parents. A copy is available in the “Parents Boost Learning” section of the Peel board’s Website at www.peelschools.org and on the “Student Transportation” section of the Dufferin-Peel board’s website at www.dpcdsb.org.