It's that time of year again. Another Labour Day long weekend. Midway lights at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) are switched off and a new school year begins for students across the country. In Peel, more than 135,000 will be headed back to elementary and secondary schools at the Peel District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

Like swallows to Capistrano, the annual return to classrooms on Tuesday is one of life's constants we should probably all be used to by now. However, after a summer spent thinking about everything else but school, students, parents and adults need get back into the right frame of mind to ensure a safe return for thousands of local children.

Peel Regional Police will be helping motorists change gears and proceed with caution on the roadways. School zones that have quiet for the last two months, but will be a flurry of activity when classes resume in a few days.

Neighbourhood streets will be teeming with pedestrian traffic as students make their way to and from school. Drivers must remember to always give right-of-way to pedestrians, but also be wary of youthful indiscretion at the curb.

Vehicular traffic will also be heavy in those areas as parents taxi children to and from school and yellow buses make the rounds to pick up and drop off precious cargo.

Traffic Services officers, assisted by additional uniform police officers, will start a "Back to School" traffic safety enforcement blitz Tuesday to help take care of children on the roads.

There will be an increased police presence in school zones to conduct the educational and enforcement campaign. Drivers who disregard speed limits, traffic laws or are careless around school sites should expect zero tolerance from law enforcement officers.

The start of a new school year is not just a re-education period for students returning to their textbooks. We should all be reacquainting ourselves and our children with the routines and procedures that keep them safe on our streets, in our cars and on school buses.

Now is the time to find those few minutes it takes to go over the streetproofing lessons that may have faded from memory while at the cottage or summer camp. Remind them about their phone number or who to approach in an emergency.

Familiarize them with their school bus stop before the first day of school to help them recognize where they should be getting on and off. Teach them the right way to cross the street and where to cross.

Remind them of the rules on a school bus, the importance of being seated and listening to the driver.

Peel's public and Catholic school boards operate a joint student busing system. When school starts they will be transporting an estimated 55,000 students every day. About 1,359 vehicles will be making approximately 4,700 runs as they collect and drop off students.

With hundreds of those kids being first-time or kindergarten bus riders, it is imperative parents do their part in preparing children before they step on the vehicles. It is just as imperative that school staff and bus drivers take extra special care to make sure these students don't get lost among the thousands of riders and are placed on the right buses and left at the correct stops.

Additional safety information is available on the police Web site at www.peelpolice.on.ca and click on Traffic enforcement under the Specialized Units section. Also on the Peel board Web site at www.peelschools.org in "Preparing your kindergarten child to ride the school bus," a fact sheet for parents available.

Heading back to school means the boys and girls of summer will have to make an effort and a few adjustments to ensure a smooth transition. But they are not the only ones. We all play a part in making sure children get to school and return home safely.