"There are wipes in everyone's bag, so make sure you wash your hands please," Ella Mahmoud commanded from the front of the bus before handing out lunch bags.
There are anti-bacterial wipes, snacks, lip balm, tissues and all sorts of necessities tucked inside the small Obama backpacks each student received this morning. The tough part is stopping the rambunctious kids from tearing through all the food on the first day.
"That's supposed to last you a week," Mahmoud warned two grade school boys trying to quietly sneak their fingers inside a crackling Sun Chips bag.
Loading the bus this morning, organizers had packed crates of bottled water and apple juice and tubs full of brown bags, each containing a sandwich, baby carrots, an apple, chips, juice and cookies.
And there's no lack of organized activity. Students read the text of the speech Obama gave at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, then discussed it using the bus microphone. Next, it wsa time to write haiku poems about Obama. Now they're watching the movie "The Great Debaters" on the bus video system.