BC News

Slingerlands pays tribute to its bus drivers
Release Date: May 21, 2008

They are the first BC staff members children see in the morning and the last they see before they go home in the afternoon.

“You have a tremendous impact on the lives of our students,” Slingerlands Principal Heidi Bonacquist told the school’s bus drivers at an appreciation breakfast held for them earlier this month. “Thank you for everything you do.”

The event, organized by the Slingerlands administration and PTA, is held to honor not only the bus drivers’ commitment to student safety, but also the fact that they are a friendly face the children connect with on their rides to and from school.

“Kids look forward to their bus rides and often come to school and report about them in great detail,” Elementary Dean Thomas Reardon said. “You often make the difference when students come to school with a smile or go home feeling good about their day.”

This year, the event had a special purpose, as the school named it “Tom Tracey Day.” Tracey, a Slingerlands bus driver and noon hour aide, passed away in April of this year. Both Mr. Reardon and Mrs. Bonacquist said that Tom will be remembered as a positive presence for both students and staff, a great conversationalist, a committed sports fan, and a special friend to Slingerlands.

“Tom will be deeply missed by the Slingerlands community,” Mrs. Bonacquist said.

At the breakfast, the Slingerlands PTA announced that the creation of a scholarship fund in Tom’s name to help send graduating Slingerlands students, a boy and a girl, to summer camp. Scholarships will begin in June 2009.

Also, Slingerlands teacher Sue Hajeck read an ode to Tom written by classroom aide Angelina LaSure. Ms. Hajeck explained that in the days following Tom’s passing, her class was studying odes, and the students encouraged Mrs. LaSure to write one about Tom. The first few lines read:

You leave us with a lot of memories of you
Like a smile that would light up a room
|A hug that could stop time if you let it
The smile and glistening eyes we saw every time
A child or dog walked by... 

 

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