Buster the Bus visits Gravette schools

Westside Eagle Observer/SUSAN HOLLAND Liam Pittman and Layla Patton, first graders at Glenn Duffy Elementary School, and first-grade teacher Miss White, participate in the school's assembly featuring Buster the School Bus Tuesday, Feb. 6. Here the students were demonstrating the importance of looking both ways before crossing the street after exiting the bus.
Westside Eagle Observer/SUSAN HOLLAND Liam Pittman and Layla Patton, first graders at Glenn Duffy Elementary School, and first-grade teacher Miss White, participate in the school's assembly featuring Buster the School Bus Tuesday, Feb. 6. Here the students were demonstrating the importance of looking both ways before crossing the street after exiting the bus.

GRAVETTE -- Students at Glenn Duffy Elementary School and Gravette Upper Elementary School had an unusual visitor the first week of February. Buster, a three-foot-tall animated school bus, was present for assemblies at both schools and the bright yellow vehicle was very popular with all the students.

Buster the School Bus is a school bus robot designed to teach students the important lessons of school bus safety. He is a fully-animated remote controlled robot which moves, speaks and listens. Students crowded forward to watch Buster, complete with audio-cassette tapes and flashing lights, all activated by remote control. With his stop arm and crossing gate, he has all the warning devices of a regular school bus.

Buster visited Glenn Duffy Elementary School on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and returned to visit the Upper Elementary on Wednesday. He had previously visited students at Gentry Elementary School on Monday.

During his visits, Buster taught students several basic rules of school bus safety. These included getting to the bus stop five minutes early, staying 10 feet away from the bus on all sides, watching for cars while waiting at the bus stop, looking both ways before crossing the street and always staying in one's seat when the bus is in motion. Students were taught to be especially careful in the "danger zone" 10 feet around the vehicle because the bus driver cannot see them in that area.

First-grade students Layla Patton and Liam Pittman participated in the program at Glenn Duffy Elementary and helped illustrate proper seating on the bus and the importance of watching for oncoming cars and looking both ways when crossing the street. Miss White, one of the first-grade teachers, also was a part of the program and near its conclusion, the students enjoyed an entertaining session where they were able to quiz their teachers on what they had learned. A "race" between Buster the Bus and a snazzy red sports car had the first graders cheering to end the program.

Bus drivers for the Gravette public school system also attended the assemblies to get a refresher course on the safe operation of a school bus.

General News on 02/14/2018