When I was a kid, I woke up every “first day of school” to my Dad, singing over the intercom system in our house. “School days, school days, wonderful golden rule days!” It’s that time of year again. Schools will be going back in session soon, if they’re not already. So be aware!

Kids going back to school are focused on everything except your car. They rush to the bus to meet their friends, they horse around at bus stops – pushing and shoving, they cross the road in a hurry to tell Mom all about their first day. The last thing they’re thinking about is whether there’s a car passing the bus illegally. So watch out for those flashing red and yellow lights! Stop when the red lights are on, begin to slow down when the yellows are flashing, and, when in doubt, stop until the driver motions you by.

For Moms and Dads, you'll find a few of the local school bus schedules for this year by clicking on your town's name...Bangor, Brewer, Ellsworth, Hampden, Newport. I realize this is only a few of the local school systems. If yours is not listed here, do what I did...go to google and type in the name of your school system followed by "school bus schedule." For example, you could type in "2012 Skowhegan school bus schedule."

Good luck to all the students heading back to school this year! And to the Moms and Dads, as they battle their kids to do their homework, remember their backpacks, and get up early enough to catch the bus!