PHOTO GALLERY — “Why do buses have wheels?” Library incorporates bus safety into story time.
Published 12:34 am Friday, February 17, 2023
Harper Mandolfo sits with her mom Ashley Mandolfo on a Nederland Independent School District bus at the Marion and Ed Hughes Library. (Monique Batson/The News)
Children and parents listen as bus driver Stacy Ward reads a book about buses during story time at the Nederland library. (Monique Batson/The News)
Children and parents sit in an NISD bus while Charles Polk, NISD director of transportation and safety, answers questions. (Monique Batson/The News)
Sebastian Gudino, 6, talks with his mom Marie Gudino. (Monique Batson/The News)
The Marion and Ed Hughes Library themed Thursday’s story time around bus safety. (Monique Batson/The News)
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NEDERLAND — Sebastian Gudino said he’s been riding the school bus for 29 years. It’s an impressive accomplishment for the 6-year-old child, and a comment that brought lots of laughter to the room of parents and children attending story time Thursday at the Marion and Ed Hughes Library.
This month is themed Love the Bus, said library assistant Noah Perryman.
“We’ve always done a story time, but we’ve never had an actual school bus,” he said. “For a lot of them, it’ll be their first time on a school bus because they haven’t started school yet.”
Following a book on buses read by Nederland Independent School District bus driver Stacy Ward, families boarded an NISD bus for a look around followed by questions and answers.
And, as expected, the questions quite humorously reflected the age group asking them.
“Why do buses have wheels?”
For those wondering, the answer was “so it can move.”
Harper Mandolfo asked about something she observed, tapping into an actual issue for bus drivers.
“Why do buses have stop signs?” she asked while looking out the window where she sat. “Maybe because to stop people when they’re going.”
NISD Director of Transportation and Safety Charles Polk said stop signs were added to buses in the early 90s.
“It’s just another device we can have on the buses to help stop the traffic when we’re loading and unloading on the bus,” he said. “It’s just something else to try and get the traffic to stop. That’s always a battle for us.”
In addition, the children learned how windows and hatches on the roof can be used as emergency exits, and that all NISD buses are equipped with seat belts.
Polk said the district has 29 buses that are maintenanced about two times per year. Depending on the size, they carry either 70 or 23 passengers.
In addition, school buses are legally capped on what speed to travel. Despite what speed limit is posted on the highway, a school bus cannot legally travel over 50-60 miles an hour depending on what type of inspection it received.
