Newtown Public School bus drivers were treated to a special bus driver appreciation breakfast by the district’s seven PTAs on Tuesday, April 22.

When local bus drivers stopped by All-Star Transportation’s Newtown Terminal on Tuesday morning, they were met with a table filled with food provided by Angelina’s Italian Deli. A blue and gold banner that read, “Thank you for all you do” and “we appreciate you” was strung up behind it.

Bus drivers could dig into trays of donuts, Danishes, muffins, croissants, bagels, and egg and cheese sandwiches, as well as coffee and toppings such as cream cheese, jelly, and whipped butter and sit in the terminal’s cafeteria for a hearty breakfast.

At nearly every table was a special card signed by students or decorated by a local PTA, each sharing gratitude to their bus drivers. The Superintendent’s office also provided goody bags with candy, lip balm, pens, and more, wrapped with a little tag that said, “We wheelie appreciate you.”

Reed Intermediate PTA Vice President Meagan Warnock said all of the district’s PTAs organized the event to “show support to the bus drivers who get their kids to and from school in all weather conditions safely.”

She added, “It’s the least we can do.”

Each of the PTAs work closely with the district for events, and the bus driver appreciation breakfast was no exception. The PTAs regularly meet with Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti to discuss upcoming events, make suggestions, and detail what the schools are doing, according to Warnock. They coordinated the appreciation breakfast together, with the PTAs reaching out to Angelina’s for catering.

Both Warnock and Reed PTA President Heymi Colon spoke on how happy they were to partner with Angelina’s.

“We gave them the budget, asked if they could make this work, and they did,” Warnock said.

Angelina’s owner Jimmy Ruggiero said that he was absolutely excited to cater for local bus drivers, adding that he just “likes having the chance to make people happy.”

While Warnock said representatives for most elementary school PTAs could not be at the event since they were putting their kids on the bus, representatives from Reed, Newtown Middle School, and Head O’Meadow PTAs were there to personally thank their local bus drivers on their behalf. They were also joined by Uberti, Ruggiero, and Director of Business and Finance Tanja Gouveia.

“On behalf of the Town’s PTAs, we just wanted to say thank you so much,” Colon told bus drivers that Tuesday. You guys have one of the hardest jobs ... and you do it very gracefully and very patiently. We are incredibly appreciative of you.”

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.