NEEDVILLE, Texas — All year-round Needville ISD bus driver Joyce Janda likes to go the extra mile for her kids.
This month, she's been conjuring up a cauldron of ideas to make Halloween frightfully fun by decorating her bus and dressing in different costumes.
It's something Janda spends hours of her own time doing to make the children’s rides to and from school a trip to remember, but she shared that the payoff is tenfold.
"It's just good to see their little faces, they do light up when they come in,” said Janda.
It’s not just holidays you'll see her bus decked out.
"We did the Needville Little League when they went to the World Series, we've done birthdays,” said Janda. "I've got a bunch a whole bunch."
In fact, she has a whole TikTok page dedicated to it, and on every occasion, she tries to one-up herself.
"I try to come up with new ideas,” said Janda.
As a school bus driver for the past eight years, Janda shared that her effort has a deeper meaning.
"Everybody needs to feel loved, attention, wanted,” she said. "You don't know what's going on in their little minds when they come on the bus, you don't know what kind of day they had, they might not have had a good day at school and they know it might be hard to tell mommy and daddy that, but at least they'll come on and they know hey I got this little bit of time to enjoy.”
Hoping to spread the joy, this year she’s driving students with special needs.
"I want them to come on and feel safe, I want them to enjoy it like they're just a regular kid, and I hope y'all saw that with Adrian,” she said.
One of the several students Janda drives home, a 2nd grader, was all smiles as he shared how much he enjoyed his daily ride.
"I like them (decorations) because they look cool.”
It’s why Janda has no plans to stop adorning her yellow school bus.
"I like it, I really like it, I do."
If you’re wondering what happens to all the decorations, Janda said she gives them away to her students so she can make room for her next theme, which next month will include Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.