After a quick google search it may not actually be the official day, but the Sun West School Division’s recognition this morning certainly shows that their bus drivers are some of the most important pieces of their school community
When it comes to the Sun West School Division they have a large number of students living on farms or other places outside of where their school is located, leading to buses transporting a very significant chunk of the area’s kids to school. The Sun West fleet includes 155 buses, 105 bus routes, and 20,695 kilometres traveled every school day.
Because of all this time on the road, passengers can often times strike a relationship with their bus driver. North West Central School (NWCS) in Plenty recently gave their best wishes to a longtime driver of theirs was a favourite of many, as Pat Richards recently retired after 41 years driving the Ruthilda area bus route for the local school.
Pat Richards with her three granddaughters, all who attend North West Central School in Plenty (Photo via Sun West School Division)NWCS Principal Cindy Thomson did her best to explain just how deep Richards connections with her kids was.
“Pat had tears in her eyes when she was retiring. She knew it was time to go, but on the other hand she does really miss those kids,” said Thomson, who provided a bit of silver lining to this summers’ retirement, “Like the story says she does own the (local) store, so lots of the kids she might see, but it’s different seeing them in the store then seeing them on the bus.”
As a bus driver, Richards was able to get her own sense of rewarding interactions with the younger generation, without having to spend any extra time teaching the kids! Not only did Richards bus four decades of local students, interestingly enough she drove all four of her own children to school as well! All of this leads to an interesting dynamic that not many people can repeat.
“You get the second generation sometimes too. She would be picking up the second generation of a family as opposed to just knowing a kid for a couple of years.”
Many different students boarded Richard’s bus and created a lifelong relationship without even knowing it, as the job presents something that turns into a very significant role. Driving the bus is just a very small part of getting the kids to school, and Thomson chuckled at the fact that most bus drivers love their job, or they likely wouldn’t be doing it.
“If you don’t love kids and like being around them and helping them out, then it’s not the job for you,” she explained, “We’ve had quite a few longstanding bus drivers. They provide an important service and role to get our students to school, and back home safely. It’s not always the easiest conditions to drive in with snow, mud, fog, ice; all of the above at times.”
“It really is a service to parents when their kids are picked up, and dropped off at home.”
The lack of extra bus drivers has been a problem within the school division and around the province since the start of the year, leading Thomson to give some reasons as to why someone should consider becoming a bus driver if interested.
“We have no sub drivers,” laid out Thomson, “It’s a job that breaks up your day, but on the other hand there is a lot of good connections and relationships you can build with the kids too. It’s hard to find those people, but they are probably out there and we just need to work at finding them.”
Relatively speaking, driving a school bus is a job anyone can do. But when it comes down to it, the relationships made over the trips to school over the years is what truly proves a driver’s aptitude and passions towards helping students and being a key cog in the school community.
Tue, May 14, 7:00 PM
