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Kids grinned from ear to ear climbing aboard big yellow school busses for the first time.
New students with both Regina Public Schools and Regina Catholic Schools got the opportunity to learn the rules of the road, sidewalk, and bus, in Regina.
The event wrapped up with kids first practice ride on the school bus, before their first day of school.
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Haley Schnell Junior is sending her daughter, Miller, off to Kindergarten. The event helped ease some of the kids nerves as well as the parents.
“I have a little bit of anxiety around sending her, but this is super helpful,” she said with a smile. “I think it’ll be really good for her.”
Terry Lazarou, the communications supervisor with Regina Public Schools, said he expected about 500 new students to attend the event.
“Parents are genuinely pleased to be able to assuage any fears that they have for themselves, but also for their kids, because their kids are not going into an unknown on the first day of school,” he said.
Lazarou said the event help introduce kids to police officers or firefighters who may be near crosswalks at school.
“Going into an unknown is always scary, especially for little kids, but also for their families,” he said.
“For some of these families, many of them new Canadians, they’ve never had to experience school bus, and this is a chance for them to see and not have an unknown on the very first day of school.”
The event allows kids to meet different emergency response crews. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)
Garret Halbgewachs has been driving the bus for Regina Public Schools since 2022, and always looks forward to kids climbing aboard for the first ride.
He said the first ride on the school bus is a good reminder of the rules of the roads, before kids get wrapped up in the first day of school.
“I’m big on safety,” Halbgewachs said. “Showing the new kids the safety on the bus and the rules of the bus is top notch.”
He said it often takes the kids a few weeks to learn the rules of the bus – then often gives kids frequent reminders throughout the year.
“They’re excited,” Halbgewachs said. “But by the end of the week, they’re probably tired of me too.”
