Murrabit Group School Walks to School

Murrabit Group School is trialling a Drop, Park, Walk Active Travel to School Route as part of the school’s participation in the 2017 VicHealth Walk to School program.

The Drop Park Walk concept is supported by VicHealth and is designed to encourage walking and riding to school throughout the year.

The route has been mapped out with signage along the way. This is an interesting trial of a statewide concept to see how it works in a small rural community.

Each Wednesday and Friday, children meet at the start of the Drop, Park, Walk route. Some ride their bikes, others walk from the school and the majority are dropped off by the school bus. They then walk or ride to school together, checking out what’s going on around them and chatting about the day ahead.

Back at the school, the children enjoy some cut up apple before starting their day in the classroom.

All ten 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, Mallee Family Care, Victoria Police and the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

Walk to School is a VicHealth initiative. For more information go to: https://www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au/, https://www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra/ or our BLOG: http://gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au.