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