Fruit and Veg that's our Pledge! - Walk to School at Kerang South Primary School

Friday morning assembly was a colourful affair at Kerang South Primary School with students coming along dressed up in the colour of their favourite fruit or vegetable – there were blueberries, bananas, watermelons, oranges, carrots, pineapples and even a tomato!

The fruit and vegetable theme was to celebrate the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program which encourages students to walk, ride and scoot to school throughout October.

Assembly kicked off with the National Anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’ and weekly presentations based on good learning outcomes and positive behaviour.

Tanya from Northern District Community Health spoke about the importance of children being active and fitting at least 60 minutes of physical activity into each day. Tanya congratulated Kerang South Primary School for their commitment to health and wellbeing and encouraged students to spend less time on screens and watching TV and more time out and about enjoying the outdoors, participating in sports and connecting with other people.

A very colourful walk out in the community followed. Along the way we learnt to Stop, Look, Listen and Think! as we crossed the roads. We saw people out working and gave them a wave. We heard the birds and bees and stopped to look at some pretty flowers and trees along the way. Most of all we heard lots of chatter and laughter and enjoyed stretching our muscles and taking in the fresh air.

 
Our walk was followed by Fresh Fruit Friday with platters of equally colourful fruit and vegetables quickly being devoured – yum, yum!! This week’s Fresh Fruit Friday was sponsored by Gannawarra Shire Council.

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 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