NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK
POSTER CONTEST
“BE SMART-BE SEEN, I WAIT IN A SAFE PLACE”
NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK
OCTOBER , 2014
The National School Bus Safety Week (NSBSW) Committee is conducting a poster contest to help promote safety awareness among students, parents, school officials and the communities of each School District. School Districts, across Florida and throughout the country, will be observing the NSBSW Poster Contest. The posters will be judged at a District, State and National level. The winners, at the National level will be announced during NSBSW, during October, and the winning poster will then be used for the following year to promote the event.
STATE PRIZES
State Prizes will be awarded for each division as follows:
1st Place$100.00
2nd Place$50.00
3rd Place$25.00
NATIONAL PRIZES
National prizes will be awarded for each Division as follows:
1ST Place and Overall Winner$500.00 Check
1st Place Winners of 3 remaining Divisions$250.00 Check
2nd Place Winners of all 4 Divisions$100.00 Check
3rd Place Winners of all 4 Divisions$50.00 Check
WHO MAY ENTER
- All Florida Public and Charter School students in the appropriate grades may enter.
- The contest is divided in to 5 divisions:
Division 1 – Grades KG – 2
Division 2 – Grades 3 – 5
Division 3 – Grades 6 – 8
Division 4 – Special Education
Division 5 – Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD). (CAD entries are not eligible as the overall National Winner but a Division Winner will be awarded.)
POSTER SPECIFICATIONS
- Paper Type:Designs should be on quality tag, poster illustration board or heavy paper. Construction paper may be used but must be mounted on quality tag poster stock. Lamination is not allowed. Cut paper/stencils, freehand or pre-drawn stick on stencils are not permitted and will disqualify the poster.
- Size:12” X 18” or 11” X 17” for the entire poster (including the bottom margin)
- Axis:Design may be drawn vertically or horizontally
- Media:Print, crayon, cut paper, felt pen, markers etc. is acceptable. Wood, plastic, glass, metal or collage material is not acceptable. Glued on pieces will eliminate the poster.
- Lettering: All lettering must be legible and in freehand. Stenciled, pre-printed, manufactured stick-on or press-on letters or tracings may not be used and will disqualify the poster.
- Copyright:Design may not incorporate any copyrighted characters (i.e. comic and television characters), photographs, and magazine or newspaper illustrations.
Previous Indian River County Poster Contest Winner
ENTRY BLANK
There must be a 3 X 5 card/entry blank, securely fastened to the BACK of the poster. This should include : Student’s name, grade, age, teacher’s name, school name and school address. A sample is below, that you may copy and use. Please print clearly.
POSTER THEME
The Poster theme must be original, correct in safety concept and the exclusive work of the student entering the contest in idea, design and execution. Instructors should supervise all work created. The poster theme must contain the following slogan only:
“BE SMART – BE SEEN, I WAIT IN A SAFE PLACE
“BE SMART-BE SEEN, I WAIT IN A SAFE PLACE”
CONTESTANTS MUST ILLUSTRATE THE ABOVE SLOGAN AND THE
EXACT SLOGAN MUST BE INCLUDED ON THE POSTER.
The slogan emphasizes that motorists are supposed to stop at school bus stops. Instructors should point out that this is an important message and should also take the opportunity to remind students that CARS DO NOT ALWAYS STOP as they should.
Students should look carefully before attempting to cross the street at the school bus stop!
Below are some examples and tips, to share with your students, prents and staff about “BEING SMART, BEING SEEN AND WAITING IN A SAFE PLACE”.
SAFE PLACE TO WAIT
The school bus system around the country provides parents with a way to get their children to and from school safely and in a timely manner. This is particularly advantageous for parents who must be at work before school starts or who don't get off work until long after school has ended for the day. Because the greatest risk associated with riding a bus is getting on and off the bus, teaching your child how to stay safe at the bus stop is a must.
- 1 Drop your childoff at the bus stop five minutes before the bus is scheduled to pick him up. If your child walks to the bus stop, teach him to get there five minutes ahead of time. According to HealthyChildren.org, most accidents happen when children are in a hurry to get on or off the bus, and arriving early can help cut down on this rush.
- 2 Show your child how to stand far enough away from the place where the bus comes to a stop. The Kids Health website notes that children should stay at least 10 feet away from where the bus stops, which is about five giant steps back.
- 3 Teach your child to wait until the school bus comes to a complete stop before moving toward the door to get on.
- 4 Instruct your child to wait until the flashing stop sign on the side of the bus is completely out and blinking before crossing the street to board the bus. When the bus driver puts out the stop sign, it means that it's safe to cross.
- 5 Teach your child to never walk behind the bus and to only cross in front of the school bus. The driver isn't able to see your child if he crosses behind the bus so walking in front is the only way to ensure that the driver knows where your child is before pulling away.
- 6 Remind your child to tell the bus driver if he drops anything while getting on or off the bus, HealthyChildren.org cautions. If your child tries to pick up something he dropped, the bus driver probably won't be able to see him.
RULES
Illustrations must be positive in approach, demonstrating only proper school bus safety behaviors.
At least part of a YELLOW BUS must be present in the poster.
You may indicate a bus number, on a bus illustration, but do not specify County Names, Contractors, State Designation or actual school names. This will ensure a fair judging process.
POSTER CONTEST TIMELINES
We encourage each school to hold your Poster Contest .
Select a winner from each Division.
Submit the winning posters, from each Division, to Transportation no later than:
4:00 PM, Thursday, May 1st.
Keep all other posters, that were not selected as Division Winners, and display them at your school facility during National School Bus Safety Week in October 2014.
The Transportation Department will then judge all submitted posters and select a District Winner from each Division. These winners will receive recognition at a School Board Meeting in May.
Transportation will provide recognition awards for your Division winners.
Any questions or concerns, please fell free to contact Transportation at:
978-8810 or 978-8802