By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA – Helena Intermediate School students who ride the bus to school every day, and even those who don’t, are now well prepared in case of an emergency thanks to the school’s participation in National School Bus Safety Week the week of Oct. 22.

During Oct. 22-26, Shelby County Schools is participating in National School Bus Safety Week which is an active public education program that encourages parents, students, teachers, motorists, school bus operators, school administrators and other interested participants to get involved in the importance of school bus safety.

On Wednesday, Oct. 24, Helena Intermediate students took some time out of their recess period to go over a variety of bus safety procedures and evacuation routes with P.E. teacher Brandon Byars.

“We just talk to them about how they may not always ride a bus to or from school but there are times during the school year where they take field trips and they’ll be on a bus so it’s important for the kids to know what they’re supposed to do in case of an emergency,” Byars said.  “We normally pick a day in the fall and once in the spring and we work on the drills. Normally we do a backdoor evaluation drill, a front door evaluation drill and then where they get off both at the same time.”

Other parts of the safety drills include teaching students to stay calm and quiet so they can listen to directions from their teacher or the bus driver, how to evacuate using the four emergency windows and timing of the evacuation drills.

For more information on National School Bus Safety Week, visit Napt.org/nsbsw.