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12 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 27, 1991 V's Back te Se New wardrobe for school must Include latest 'in' brand names School days are just around the corner, but the battle of the brand-names has already be- n. Vuarnet T-shirts were popu- lar last year, but now nobody wears them, says Melissa Luke, who will entering Grade 8 this fall. Esprit isin, and so are Buffa- lo jeans, she says. Neon colors are out. She shops for leggings and baggy shirts, loose jeans, plaid skirts, and whatever she can find in black. Why black? "A lot of people wear black," she says. "I like it." "Our Docs are really popu- lar," says Andrea Gibson, who works at the Northern Cloth- ing Company. She points to a range of heavy leather shoes imported from England with a Dr. Marten label. Other popular items for the high school crowd include bag- gy jeans, kilts, tights paired with big sweaters, and psyche- delic '60s-style short dresses that swing loosely at the bot- tom, she says. Parents buy brand names be- cause they are good quality, ex- plains Karey Bignall, the own- er of Children's Den. And they want some clothes to pass down to their younger children. But Leanne Kemp of Black- stock disagrees. "Brand names aren't important," she says. She has three girls and the oldest is entering Grade 1 this year, so she is looking for "stuff that lasts, so I can pass it down." Sneakers are obviously a Donald Campbell, 7, and his sister Andrea, 5, of Green- status symbol for boys. K.J. Davidson wants Reebok Pump- ups, "but I'm not buying him $130 sneakers!" says his moth- er. Glenn Espie, who will be go- ing into Grade 7, hopes to per- suade his mother to buy him some Nike Air Jordans. "They're on sale," he says. "They're only $110." Why should his mother spend that much money on a pair of sneakers? "They're good," he explains. Chris Begg from Uxbridge, who is going jnto Grade 8 this fall, has his eye on the same pair of sneakers. He says that sports shirts are another popu- lar item, "especially New York Yankees," he says. Doug Short, soon to be in Grade 7, says that college teams logos are the "coolest". He says that Georgetown is popular, but UNLV (Universi- ty of Nevada in Las Vegas) is his favorite. Roz Wordley moved to Port Perry from Birmingham, Eng- land, last November. She says her four school-age children were used to a strict school uni- form, so they found the range of school fashions to be quite bewildering. "Their wardrobes were quite small, because they wore their uniforms to school, and their winter clothes were useless," she explains. "We had to buy a lot of clothes when we moved here." She looks for hard-wearing clothes that are easy to wash and don't need ironing. But her children insist on wearing up- to-date fashions. bank, can't wait to get back to school on Sept. 3. The Dur- ham Reglon Police Service advises parents to remind chil- dren of the special dangers of travelling to school. "There is a uniform at school," she says, "because teenagers like to look the same. But the clothes they wear are expensive." Freda Wasson, from Peterbo- rough, likes to buy and make clothes for her 12 grandchil- dren, eight of whom are in school, but she says they are difficult to please. She describes the jumpsuits she made for two of her grand- daughters. "They only wore them twice," she says.. "They even picked out the material, but then they wouldn't wear them. It makes me so mad!" "Kids are much more fashion conscious than they used to be," says Carol Davidson, from Peterborough. She explains that if she buys brand name clothes, by the time her younger son gets them, they'll be out of fashion and he won't wear them. "It used to be, when I was ounger, that my parents ught me clothes and I had to wear them," she says. "But not anymore." Oh, for a pair of the top-of-the-line sneakers! Bobbie (left) and his brother Glenn Esple admire a pair of the best (and most expensive) in a Port Perry store window. As kids return to school drivers warned to keep a close watch It's back to school next week and with it comes the increased traffic of children returning to the schools after enjoying their summer vacation. Constable Pat Judges, from Durham Regional Police's Co- munity Services, says there are a number of basic rules which the children should follow, not just while going to and from school, but at all times. The safest place for anybody to cross the street is at a corner, where they are most visible. Constable Judges says it is im- portant for the children to "look all ways" not just both ways as we were taught to do in the past. He says often motorists roll through stop signs, and therefore it is important to make sure the motorist has seen the child crossing. While crossing they should continue tolook. While waiting to cross, Con- stable Judges says it is impor- tant that the children act sensi- bly and don't push and shove each other. A person could be accidentally pushed into the path of oncoming traffic. If possible, the children should cross at a crosswalk, with a guard on duty. Constable Judges says there are a number of things to reme- ber when the children are cross- ing at the crosswalk, relating to the signals by a crossing guard. Each guard is equipped with a whistle, and these whistle sig- nals should be understood and obeyed. The first whistle means the guard should be walking into the street. Once traffic is stopped, the whistle will be sounded a second time which means the children should be- gin to walk across the street. A third whistle will be blown once the guard has seen all the chil- dren cross the street and the guard is back on the side of the road. It is also the law now for all cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes across an intersec- tion. For the rural areas where there are no sidewalks, Consta- ble Judges says it is best to walk facing traffic. Although traffic safety and bicycle safety is taught in the schools, it is important for the parents to become involved at home as well. "It is important to stress it while they're at home with the kids," he says. With the number of child ab- duction cases increasing, it is also necessary to teach the chil- dren how to handle uncomfort- able situations regarding strangers. There are three basic words for the children to learn and fol- low when dealing with a situa- tion. These words are "No, Go, and Tell." The basic idea of these words is that they should say "No' to a stranger when confronted, 'Go' immediately to a safe place such as a store, a block parent, or home and Tell' what hap- pened. Constable Judges says it is important that the child re- ports the incident as soon as possible so that others can be made aware oti The children should be made aware of the block parents in the neighborhood, and told of the service they provide in an emergency. Constable Judges suggests that while parents are walking the children to school, they point out these locations. There are also some basic guidelines to follow to avoid sit- uations with strangers. When possible children should travel in groups and always stay in well-lighted areas, where there are other people. Durham Regional Police Community Services conducts presentations at many of the re- gion's schools throughout the year to teach these rules to the students. And although it is a comprehensive program and well received by the children, Constable Judges says it is im- portant for the parents to rein- force the points while at home with the children. ~ Trent {lg University =» at Durham College Fall-Winter: September to April By study in Oshawa alone, you may obtain a Trent degree in: Anthropology, Cultural Stadies, Economics, English, History, Politics, Psychology or Sociology. For a brochure, counselling or infor- mation on admission please call (416) 723-9747. RS