The Centralia School Board celebrated the return of the beloved Kinder Awards on Thursday after a years-long hiatus by celebrating 15 Centralia School District kindergartners who regularly exhibit excellent behavior on the school bus.

“Riding a bus for a kinder can be overwhelming and intimidating. It can be noisy. They are with 60 kids that they don’t know, so on an annual basis, the driver selects a kinder that has done outstanding performance as far as learning how to ride the bus,” said Centralia School District Transportation Director Gibb Kingsley during the Centralia School Board’s regular meeting on Jan. 23, where the kindergartners received their awards surrounded by their families and district staff.

Award winners who weren’t present at Thursday’s school board meeting were given their awards at school.

Bus drivers selected one kindergartner from each route to receive the award. Criteria includes having a good attitude, being respectful, following the safety rules and setting a good example for other kids on the bus.

Each bus driver got to nominate one student from their route for the award.

The kindergartners selected for this year’s Kinder Awards are:

• Dayna, nominated by route 48 driver Adam Moir

• Daniela, nominated by route 41 driver Karen Chavez

• Daneiris, nominated by route 43 driver Tawnie Dail

• Evelyn, nominated by route 40 driver, Jeremy Baird

• Jessie Jo, nominated by route 42 driver Gene Tabor

• Adeline, nominated by route 63 driver Kristy Carson

• Kylo, nominated by route 42 drivers Marla Foster and Anthony Vrotny

• Julian, nominated by route 51 driver Kyrsten Taggart

• Isabella, nominated by route 66 driver Leslie Taggart

• Henry, nominated by route 52 driver Cristy Smiley

• Noah, nominated by route 53 driver Stephanie Leisure

• Zacarias, nominated by route 60 driver Stephanie Person

• Zoe, nominated by route 62 driver Thomas Wygant

• Aubree, nominated by route 93 drivers Todd Cheney and Anissa Castle

• Oliver, nominated by route 65 driver LeAna Adams