On March 29, a group of students from Pontiac High School’s (PHS) media class, joined representatives of the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) at Autobus La Salle in Shawville for the shooting of a tutorial video regarding school bus safety.

In the parking lot of Autobus La Salle, students watched eagerly as a tow truck flipped a school bus onto its side, recreating the aftermath of a crash for the filming of the video.

As PHS’s media teacher, Jordan Kent manned the camera, student-actors were instructed to grimace, mimicking painful agony as they maneuvered their way out the back door of the decanted bus.

For Deborah-Lynn Beauchamp, in charge of bus safety training in WQSB schools, the filming of the video was organized as a way for the WQSB to more efficiently deliver her tutorials to schools across the board.

According to Beauchamp, the video will be divided into small sections, enabling viewers to choose specifically what part of bus safety they want to learn about.

“It’ll be built in chunks,” said Beauchamp. “So, if they want to show them proper evacuation, they’re going to show them the evacuation portion. If they want to show how to properly sit and behave in the bus that’ll be a separate portion. It’ll be a more interactive method of teaching kids bus safety.”

Properly teaching bus safety to students is necessary, according to Beauchamp, as in the case of a severe accident students need to have the knowledge required to act proactively instead of reacting to the situation.

“In the circumstance of an emergency they should have in the back of their minds what they have to do,” said Beauchamp. “By doing it this way, it comes back when it’s required. If they don’t have a clue how to do it, then it’s always an issue.”

After discussing with members of the board for the past couple of years, Manon Dusablon, administrative services director with the WQSB, said it was about time the school board made its own video featuring its own students.

“It’ll be nice to do our own video,” said Dusablon. “With our own students and our own bus to produce and show to the elementary kids so they can relate that it’s in a Quebec School bus and it’s our students.”

The purpose behind the video will be to emphasize safety inside of school buses and how to properly evacuate one in the case of an accident and the initiative is part of a school project that PHS media students are currently working on, Dusablon said.

According to Dusablon, the WQSB’s new bus safety campaign will be held in February, when the video will be shown to all elementary schools in the WQSB in 2020.

Pictured, students socialize while seated in the bus prior to shooting.

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