Dozens of school kids in Chatham will have a little bit of an easier time riding the bus now thanks to a unique initiative.
On Tuesday, The Safety Dog Bus Tour rolled into town and gave in junior and senior kindergarten students at Saint Ursula Catholic School and McNaughton Avenue Public School a first-hand lesson on how to ride the school bus safely. Organized by First Student, the program offers a bus tour for the students and several activities to help make riding the bus less intimidating.
"We're teaching them how to be safe on a school bus, how to sit properly, all the features on a school bus how to get on and off safely and to cross the road safely when getting off the bus," said Alli Miller with FirstGroup America.
According to Kent Orr, general manager of CLASS for the Lambton Kent District School Board, the school board puts of large focus on making sure kids are educated on safety, especially when they are just starting out in the school system.
"We've got several thousand JK and SK students in our system. They're going to be with us riding buses for many, many years, we know that. So we like to introduce them to safety programs early and often. This program is a fantastic fit for those young riders," he explained.
Orr added that riding a school bus for the first time can be a daunting task for young people who have never done it before. He said The Safety Dog Bus Tour addresses certain fears they may have.
"When they walk up to that school bus, it's enormous for little three, four and five-year-olds," said Orr. "Also getting them accustomed to getting in and sitting down on the bus. It's a different seating configuration then they'd be in mom and dad's minivan."
The Safety Dog Bus Tour is in its fifth year and travelled to 12 schools during its latest run with Chatham-Kent being the only Canadian stop in 2019.
"It's a great program," exclaimed Orr. "We appreciate First Student bringing it here, we know we were [one] of many that wanted to have it. So we certainly appreciate Chatham-Kent getting selected and being able to offer it to our schools here."
