Students Return to School in Oxford County

Wednesday, 3 September 2025 09:35

The first day of school is here and that means everyone needs to do their part to ensure safety is at the forefront.

OXFORD COUNTY - It's the day most kids dread, and most parents look forward to.

Kids in Oxford County will be back in the classroom for the first day of school today.

Randi Crawford, the Community Safety and Media Relations Officer with the Oxford OPP, says this means you'll run into school buses during your morning commute today.

"You just want to give yourself a bit of extra time because you never pass a school bus when that sign is out and you want to make sure you slow down when your approaching and when you're behind a school bus. You always want to make sure you're respectful of that."

She adds you should also be on the lookout for crossing guards.

"Remember as a driving your anticipating that there's going to be crossing guards out there and you want to make sure you slow down ahead of time. It can be nerve wracking for some of those crossing guard when they see a vehicle coming, so if you approach them nice and slow it's very courteous."

It's important to remember the reduced speed limit in school zones, and school drop off areas are there for a reason. The areas in front of school can be quite busy in the morning, afternoon and at lunchtime, so make sure you respect the rules in place for student drop off and pick up.

If you have a child that is waking or riding their bike to school this year, Constable Crawford as this piece of advice.

"If you didn't had a chance to it right before the first day of school, have the walks to and from the school with the kids this first week. Make sure that you're watching to see how they're crossing and maybe have an alternative plan so if there's a detour or something one day, they have some other options."

You should also have the stranger danger talk with your kids and make sure they use the buddy system.

Constable Crawford says there is an easy way to track of their whereabouts.

"I have an Android phone, so the Life360 app is quite popular and that way people know where their children are and the children know where their parents are. So it's a just a nice way to share that information and provide you with some extra comfort for safety."

Constable Crawford also would like to remind everyone out there that traffic saftey whether you're a driver, cyclist, or a pedestrian.