VicHealth Walk to School program kicks off across Gannawarra Shire

All ten primary schools across the Gannawarra Shire are participating in this year’s Walk to School program – that’s 785 students who will be out and about over the next month being active and healthy in their communities.

 

The VicHealth Walk to School program encourages students and their families to ride, walk or scoot to and from school, or the school bus as often as they can.  Students will also be encouraged to be active while at school.

Last year, 95.0% of students (732 students) walked, rode or scooted to school throughout October. Walks for the month totalled 17,202 and based on the average walking distance that added up to 12,351 kms! We are aiming to do walk even further this year!

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, Mallee Family Care, with support from the Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership.

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

Follow along with the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program: https://www.facebook.com/HealthyGannawarra

 

Don’t forget to tune into radio station 98.7 MixxFM for Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School messages throughout October.