CK students promote school bus safety

Brightly colored posters decorated the inside of the Central Kitsap School District transportation building Friday as the student winners for the School Bus Safety Poster contest celebrated with a root beer float party.

In conjunction with the National School Bus Safety Week in October, students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade were given the opportunity to decorate a poster of their choice demonstrating school bus safety. The theme this year was “Stop on red, kids ahead.”

“Our stop signs are often ran by cars,” said CKSD Transportation Spokeswoman Melinda Knapp. “If (the students) know the safety roles, maybe they’ll let their parents know.”

The two winners who will be continuing on to the state level in Pasco, are second-grader Ruby Wyman and fifth-grader Madison Munro. Wyman’s poster featured a school bus on the road with other vehicles and the sun shining in a blue sky. Munro’s poster displayed the back of a bus with students loading next to the red flashing stop sign on the driver’s side of the bus.

“I wanted to show a different perspective of a bus,” Munro explained. “I’m proud of myself for getting this far, whatever happens now happens.”

Although Wyman said she’s not a regular bus rider, she wanted to showcase a young girl getting on the bus.

“I’m excited,” Wyman said with a shy smile across her face. “I’m a little scared (about going to the state contest). I hope I win.”

Students who participated in the contest had to have the theme phrase along with a school bus pictured in their poster. Graphics had to be drawn free-hand on an 11-by-17-inch piece of poster paper.

Other honorable mention students were Woodlands fifth-grader Ryan Santos, Woodlands second-grader Ellie Page, Emerald Heights first-grader Paige Henderson, Emerald Heights first-grader Madison Voyles, Brownsville first-grader Lauren Peck and Silver Ridge fourth-grader Savannah Bussard.

“We got some really nice posters,” Knapp added with a laugh. “Some didn’t qualify, but they were really cute.”

Rob Harvey, CKSD supervisor of transportation, said he’s excited to see the two students competing at the state level. The contest was open to all students across the state with more than 100 participants from the Central Kitsap School District. Students who win at state will continue on to the national competition. The winner of that competition will have their poster featured across the United States for National School Bus Safety Week in October.

“This is great,” said Bill McEnerney, CKSD transportation director. “We’ll take (the students) to Pasco and see how it goes from there.”

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