Inspirational Tips to Get Active from Kerang Primary School

Just because Walk to School month is over, students at Kerang Primary School want to encourage everyone to keep walking – it’s great for your physical and mental health, and it’s fun too!
 

The students have been working on their literacy skills all month by entering inspirational tips in a weekly Walk to School Treasure Chest. Each week three winning entries have been selected with students rewarded with a $10 voucher at the local sports shop.

 

If you need some inspiration to be active, here are some of their terrific tips:

 

“If you’re running and you’re tired, don’t give up”. Aochim Grade 6

“I think kids should Walk, Ride and Scoot to school to get their blood pumping through their bodies”. Bainli Grade 3

“Stop, Look, Listen, Think! Do you need a drink? Walk, Ride, Scoot, Skate, everything you do is Great!!!!!”  Xander Grade 5/6A

And the Winners of the Week 2 Ready, Set, Go Walk to School Treasure Chest inspirational tips are:

“Jump, walk, hop and skip – it’s fun!” Kai Prep

“When it’s raining you can still walk using an umbrella” Azaihlee Grade 1

“Walk with somebody else it makes it more exciting” Natalie Grade 1

“Walk to School is what you do, walking to school is good for you” Abbigail Grade 5

“If you’re tired think of a funny joke to keep yourself motivated” Colten Grade 5/6

“Walk or run we don’t care, just keep going till you get there!” Hannah Grade 4

While, the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program finishes on 31^st October, Kerang Primary School students are encouraged to walk, ride or scoot to school all year round. It’s a great way for children to clear their minds and get some fresh air before heading into the classroom to learn.

Walk to School classroom calendars will be collected up from the 11 participating Gannawarra schools this week. Calendars will then be collated and the information uploaded to VicHealth to be counted as part of the statewide Walk to School tally. Once all the information is tallied up we will then be able to award the winning class at 7 local schools with a Gannawarra Golden Shoe Trophy…good luck to all classes who have done their best to walk, ride or scoot to school throughout the month - will your class be the winner?

 

The Walk to School program promotes the importance of children being Active and Healthy in their communities and fitting at least 60 minutes of physical activity into their daily lives. Getting actively to school, the school bus, or while at school not only helps keep children fit and healthy, it also helps them to stay alert, to concentrate and improves learning outcomes.

The Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program is rolled out across the Gannawarra Shire as a Gannawarra Local Agency Meeting (GLAM) partnership project. This is a partnership between Gannawarra Shire Council, Northern District Community Health, Kerang District Health, Cohuna District Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Service, Victoria Police, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra and the Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: www.gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au

More Pop Up Fun with Koondrook Pre-School and Gannawarra Children's Centre

Lots of mischievous 'pop up' fun at the Gannawarra Children's Centre with a big carrot and snowpea popping in to say 'hi'!

Some extra special little munchkins were visiting from Koondrook Pre-school.

The pre-school children enjoyed yummy fruit and vegetables as a healthy snack and some funny active outdoor play with the big carrot and snowpea.

Climbing, swinging, jumping and bouncing were favourite activities. There was also lots of laughter and chatter as we all had fun playing together.

 

Both the Koondrook Pre-School and Gannawarra Children’s Centre are part of the Healthy Together Victoria Achievement Program for Early Childhood and Care Settings and are currently working towards achieving recognition for the Physical Activity priority area.

The children enjoy being active throughout the day with lots of different activities on offer and lots of opportunity for creative indoor and outdoor active play.

October is also Walk to School month and kinder is a great place to start establishing healthy habits for later in life.

Riding, walking and scooting to pre-school creates special family time as children develop their independence, and explore and learn about their surroundings. It’s also a great way to start learning to Stop, Look, Listen and Think!

Our 'pop up' fun was part of Children's Week and Walk to School month. Supporting children from an early age to be active and healthy gives them a great start to life and sets them up for a lifetime of healthy habits...

Pop up Veg Visit Cohuna Pre-School for Children’s Week and Walk to School month

A big carrot and snow pea popped up at Cohuna Pre-School this morning to mark the start of Children’s Week activities across the Gannawarra Shire.

The Cohuna Pre-School is part of the Healthy Together Victoria Achievement Program for Early Childhood and Care Settings. Working towards achieving recognition for the Physical Activity priority area, there certainly was no shortage of active play going on this morning. The bike track was put to good use and lots of tumbling and jumping added to the excitement. There was also no shortage of happy smiling faces.

 

The big carrot was the star of the show with the kinder children eagerly waiting for their carrot seeds to spout. Lots of other yummy veg were growing in the garden beds – strawberries, cabbage, tomatoes and lots of yummy herbs.

We enjoyed colourful platters of fruit and veg together and chatted about our favourites – watermelon won the vote, followed closely by oranges. Tomatoes definitely lost the vote!

We talked about how we should all Strive for 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit every-day, and that eating a rainbow of colourful fruit and vegetables is a good way to make sure growing bodies get all the vitamins and minerals needed to grow and develop.

Delightful little faces popped up in a 'selfie' with the snow pea and some of the children had a go at using the big camera to take some more happy snaps!

 

October is also Walk to School month and kinder is a great place to start establishing healthy habits for later in life. Riding, walking and scooting to pre-school burns off lots of energy and is special family time as children develop their independence, explore and learn about their surroundings.

Thanks to Tanya from Northern District Community Health and Narelle from the Gannawarra Shire for ‘popping up’ at Cohuna Kinder as a carrot and pea as we continue to work in partnership to make sure that every child living in the Gannawarra Shire has a great start to life!

 

Getting Active and Healthy at Murrabit Group School

One of the best things about Spring is getting out an about walking in our communities, meeting up with other people and checking out what’s going on in the world around us.

To celebrate Walk to School month and the end of Nutrition Week, Murrabit Group School combined with Murrabit Playgroup this morning for a colourful community walk, with a big banana, snowpea and carrot joining in the excitement!

Walking shoes on – tick

Slip, Slop, Slap – tick

Mozzie repellent on – tick

Remember to Stop, Look, Listen, Think – tick

We ran through the check list, pulled on our walking shoes, slapped on a hat and some mozzie repellent and reminded ourselves to Stop, Look, Listen, Think! We even slapped on some high viz vests so that we could be seen easier out on the roads and footpaths. The trucks honked their horns at us and we gave them a friendly wave.

Back at school we talked about all of the things we need to do to keep our bodies healthy and well. Being healthy isn’t just about being active, it’s also about fuelling our bodies with the right kinds of foods, like fruit and vegetables, nuts and some meat and fish, and of course lots of water.

 

We talked about how we should all Strive for 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit every-day, and that eating a rainbow of colourful fruit and vegetables is a good way to make sure growing bodies get all the vitamins and minerals needed to grow and develop.

A healthy breakfast is also really important for little bodies. With the help of some community volunteers, students at Murrabit Group School get to enjoy breakfast together once a week. This is a great way for the students to enjoy time sitting down together and sharing a meal. It also provides the students with the energy needed to get through the day, to be able to concentrate and learn.

After our Walk to School event, Murrabit Playgroup families stayed on to enjoy reading in the school’s library before borrowing a book to take home. Reading to children from an early age helps develop important skills and builds a strong foundation for reading and writing once children start pre-school and school. It was all about animals this week with Jason and Indigo choosing the book Mutt Dog!, The Cat Wants Custard was Stella’s pick while Lucy’s Cat and the Rainbow Birds appealed to Pippy, and for Will it was Green Tree Frogs.  It’s fabulous that children in a small community like Murrabit can join in the fun at their local primary school and learn all about being healthy and happy from a young age.

All eleven primary schools across the Gannawarra Shire are participating in this year’s Walk to School program with students encouraged to ride, walk or scoot to and from school, the school bus or while at school, throughout October.

The Walk to School program promotes the importance of children being Active and Healthy in their communities and fitting at least 60 minutes of physical activity into their daily lives. Getting actively to school, the school bus, or while at school not only helps keep children fit and healthy, it also helps them to stay alert, to concentrate and improves learning outcomes.

The Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to Scool program is rolled out across the Gannawarra Shire as a Gannawarra Local Agency Meeting (GLAM) partnership project. This is a partnership between Gannawarra Shire Council, Northern District Community Health, Kerang District Health, Cohuna District Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Service, Victoria Police, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra and the Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: www.gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au

Out and About with Quambatook Group School

Great excitement at Quambatook Group School this week as the seven students pulled on their walking shoes for a walk around their community as part of the VicHealth Gannawarra Walk to School program.
 

We learnt that even in small communities we need to always practice “Stop, Look, Listen, Think!”, to watch out for our friends and make sure we are visible and able to be seen by the traffic. We got a few waves and some ‘beeps’ from passing cars and trucks so it was good to know that everyone could see us in our safety vests!

Walking is a fantastic way to check out what’s going on in the environment as there are some great learning experiences in our own communities. We stopped off at the Bev Nalder Memorial Park and tried out the local sun dial.

We called in to say ‘Hi’ to the ladies at the Quambatook Stores before heading down to the Avoca River to see that the recent floodwaters had receded.

Back at school we all enjoyed a cool drink of water and healthy fruit and vegetable snack. We even took a vote on our favourite fruit or vegetable. Brodie and Jake voted for blueberries, Danica, Braedon, Paige and Mrs G. all voted for watermelon, Brandon for grapes and Braeden for green apple.

The children also talked about what new fruit and vegetables they had tried from the platter. Danica tried snowpeas, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and celery for the first time, Braedon capsicum, snowpeas and tomato, and Brandon tried a snowpea. It’s always great to try new things. We may decide we don’t like them the first time but our tastebuds change as we grow up. It’s always good to keep trying new foods as one day something we didn’t like as a child, might just start to taste great!

All eleven primary schools across the Gannawarra Shire are participating in this year’s Walk to School program with students encouraged to ride, walk or scoot to and from school, the school bus or while at school, throughout October.

The Walk to School program promotes the importance of children being Active and Healthy in their communities and fitting at least 60 minutes of physical activity into their daily lives. Getting actively to school, the school bus, or while at school not only helps keep children fit and healthy, it also helps them to stay alert, to concentrate and improves learning outcomes.

The Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to Scool program is rolled out across the Gannawarra Shire as a Gannawarra Local Agency Meeting (GLAM) partnership project. This is a partnership between Gannawarra Shire Council, Northern District Community Health, Kerang District Health, Cohuna District Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Service, Victoria Police, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra and the Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: www.gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au

 

 

Fruit & Veg Rock at Koondrook Primary School

We all know we should eat 5 serves of vegetables a day, right?...But did you know that the average person only eats half that? This week is Nutrition Week and Koondrook Primary School students want to encourage everyone to discover new ways to add vegetables to your day – eat a rainbow of different coloured vegetables each day, and try something new along the way…

At Koondrook Primary School the students grow lots of vegetables, herbs and fruit. The school chooks are also happy to contribute! Fresh produce is used to cook up delicious treats in the classroom. Excess produce is sold each month at the local farmer’s market - raising a healthy profit as well as healthy kids!

The school even took out lots of prizes at this week’s Barham/Koondrook & District Annual Show – 1^st and 2^nd prize for 6 eggs any colour, 1^st prize for 10 snow peas, 1^st prize for a pot grown herb (oregano), 1^st prize for pot grown strawberry, and 1^st and 2^nd prize for a bunch of 3 beetroot. What a sensational effort!

It’s Walk to School month and each morning students walk or jog twice around the school oval; some go fast, others go slow, more content to walk and talk. Regardless of the pace, getting some fresh air and exercise is a great way to kick start the day.

 

All eleven primary schools across the Gannawarra Shire are participating in this year’s Walk to School program with students encouraged to ride, walk or scoot to and from school, the school bus or while at school, throughout October.

The Walk to School program promotes the importance of children being Active and Healthy in their communities and fitting at least 60 minutes of physical activity into their daily lives. Getting actively to school, the school bus, or while at school not only helps keep children fit and healthy, it also helps them to stay alert, to concentrate and improves learning outcomes.

The Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to Scool program is rolled out across the Gannawarra Shire as a Gannawarra Local Agency Meeting (GLAM) partnership project. This is a partnership between Gannawarra Shire Council, Northern District Community Health, Kerang District Health, Cohuna District Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Service, Victoria Police, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra and the Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: www.gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au