Spooky season is nearly here - is it coming to your bus routes? Drivers and students alike can enjoy the holiday, and have a good time doing so. It's a great way to break up the monotony of daily routes during the fall semester.
However, of course, you can't sacrifice student safety during your celebrations. BusBoss is here to help you protect your most precious cargo, so let's talk about safely celebrating Halloween and related holidays on your buses!
Avoid All Major Allergens
While a school should have records on what students have food allergies, it's a bad idea to assume such records are complete and accurate. So for safety's sake, try to avoid snacks that could trigger common food allergies such as nuts, wheat, milk, or eggs.
Which, yes, means that cookies should probably be avoided. If you have an urge to bake that you just can't shake, make sure the cookies' ingredients are clearly labeled.
Provide Candy More Than Just Candy
Candy is the 'safest' option in terms of avoiding allergies, but that shouldn't be the only thing on offer. For one thing, it's unhealthy. For another, a bus driver probably doesn't want to deal with an entire student ridership on a sugar rush. Be sure there are other options.
Also, include some sugar-free candy for the diabetic kids, or anyone who simply doesn't want sugar.
Fruit Is a Safe Choice
Fruit allergies are rare, especially if you stick to the most common fruits. Small self-contained fruits such as grapes, cherries, and strawberries are going to be a good pick here. Just make sure to avoid fruits with seeds/pits if at all possible.
Providing fruits that need to be chopped up isn't the best idea. There are possible issues with food handling. Also, most fruits that need to be chopped - like apples and pears - tend to oxidize quickly and will look ugly if they're sitting around too long.
Don't Overlook Savory Snacks!
Believe it or not, some kids really don't like sweet stuff all that much and prefer savory treats. Simple treats like cheese-and-cracker packs can work well as an alternative to candy.
Or perhaps vegetables, such as small carrots or celery sticks. Again, try to stick to veggies which can be served whole and don't require preparation like chopping.
Keep Food Fridged Until It's Time To Roll Out
Unless you're only providing individually-packaged shelf-stable foods, be sure to keep everything chilled until it's time for the bus routes. This will reduce the chances of any harm to the snacks, as well as helping to prevent any accidental spread of disease.
Hand Out Snacks - Don't Let Kids Grab
On the topic of preventing disease spread, don't simply have a basket of snacks the kids rummage through. That's basically begging for an outbreak. If it's at all possible, hand out the treats individually while wearing gloves, for the safest snack-picking.
Keep Decorations Simple
Finally, if you're thinking about decorating your bus, stick to fairly simple paper or cardboard decorations. That's going to be best for student safety, since paper products are unlikely to become dangerous even in the event of an accident. And there are plenty of nice-looking paper decorations that can be easily hung in a bus, then removed later.
If you need more ideas for keeping your students safe, BusBoss is here. From better bus tracking to improved parent communications, we help you make student safety a priority! Contact us to learn about our services.
Tracking is good for districts, it’s good for students, and it’s good for parents. That makes it a real win-win investment for districts. What arguments do you find compelling, when talking about bus tracking?