It’s the way a lot of South Huntington students get to and from school every day.  So it’s important to know the school bus rules and follow them so all our students travel safely.  Oakwood Primary Center holds a “Manners on the School Bus” lesson for the entire school every October.  It even includes students who don’t take the bus every day so they’ll understand what to do during field trips. 

Each classroom was given the book Manners on the School Bus, and after reading the book or watching the video, the students were ready for their on-the-bus lesson. On Tuesday, three South Huntington school buses were parked in front of Oakwood as principal Dr. Annie Michaelian and her staff helped every kindergarten, first and second grade class board one of the buses to talk about the three letters - SRR -  that are posted inside at the front of each school bus, and what they mean.  SAFE. RESPECTFUL. RESPONSIBLE.  

“As students, one of the things they need to know is how to be with their peers and their bus drivers during the bus rides. It's important to make sure that they can relate to those rules and that they carry from the school to the bus, and we revisit this conversation all throughout the year,” said Dr. Michaelian. 

When quizzed about ways to stay safe, a lot of little hands shot up.  Answers included don’t stand up until the bus stops, don’t change seats, and make sure that your color-coded seat belt ends match and are buckled up. And lots of the kids knew where to sit on the bus according to grade - kindergarteners in the front, first graders in the middle, and second graders in the back.

The lesson ended with a reminder to always listen to and be respectful of the bus driver.  The drivers have special coupons they can give out to students who exhibit good behavior on the bus.  The kids can use those coupons to shop for prizes at Oakwood’s Kindness Store. As each student got off the bus, they thanked the driver (there were some high fives and fist bumps) and each student got a coupon!

Our Transportation Department brought two large buses and a van to Oakwood which remained parked in front of the Main Entrance for the day. 

Students had the opportunity to go inside a school bus and learn about bus safety. To prepare for this experience, students read the book Manners on the Bus with their teachers, and reviewed what it means to be SRR (Safe, Respectful, Responsible) when riding the school bus every day. 

We thank the Transportation Department and Oakwood’s SBM team for all of their work on this special and important project!