Inspiring Others to be Active and Healthy at Kerang Primary School

What are you waiting for? Get Walking Gannawarra! Kerang Primary School students want to inspire everyone to Get Walking. After all, it’s a free and fun activity that the whole family can enjoy and it’s a great time of the year to be out and about connecting with others in your community and checking out what’s going on in the environment around us.

A Ready, Set, Go Walk to School Treasure Chest at Kerang Primary is helping students improve their literacy skills by writing down inspirational tips each week that they want to share with everyone. 

Aochim, Bainli and Xander were presented with $10 vouchers for the local sports store as prizes for the great inspirational tips they put in the Treasure Chest the first week of Walk to School month: 

“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

Being healthy and active every-day is something the students at Kerang Primary School take very seriously. Each morning they walk or jog around the block before going into class to learn. They are one of eight of the eleven primary schools across the Gannawarra Shire that has been presented with a Get Active statement demonstrating the local partnership approach between schools, Gannawarra Shire Council and partner agencies to supporting every child to have a great start to life.

And being healthy doesn’t just mean being active, it also means eating a healthy diet including lots of fruit and vegetables.

Kerang Primary School students work hard to keep their Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden in great shape, producing lots of yummy fresh vegetables and herbs. In season now are broad-beans, spinach, parsley, broccoli, parsley, chives, basil which are being turned into delicious meals. Next week some parents are coming to enjoy homemade pasta using spinach and parsley out of the garden.

Sometimes the students graze in the vegetable garden before school and on Friday’s sell some of their fresh and produce at the school gate – the students have made $39.50 over the past two weeks which will help buy supplies to keep the garden growing.

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.

It really is Cool to Walk to School! And students are busy recording their activity on Walk to School classroom calendars in an effort to win prizes for their school. Kerang Primary are also one of seven local schools competing for a Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy which will be presented to the class with the highest participation walking, riding or scooting to school, or the school bus, 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

Looking after Mind and Body at Leitchville Primary School and Leitchville Preschool

Leitchville Primary School combined with the Leitchville Preschool this morning for a colourful Fruit Salad walk as part of the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program. Children dressed in fruit salad colours to highlight the importance of eating a rainbow of fruit and vegetables every day to stay healthy and well. Three big bananas, a carrot and snowpea also joined in the fun!

It’s Mental Health Week and staying healthy and well, both physically and mentally, helps children develop lifelong healthy habits and improves learning outcomes.

Before going on our Fruit Salad walk we talked about the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and what we wanted to do and see while out walking. Connecting with some key people down the street at the Leitchville Store and the Leitchville Bakery were priorities as well as popping in and saying ‘Hi’ at Lipps Rural Supply Store. 

The 5 Ways to Wellbeing are easy things we can remember to do everyday to help keep us happy and healthy. We practiced all of these out on our walk: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give…

As we walked, we breathed in the fresh Leitchville air, saw some pretty flowers, birds and trees. Along the way we learnt to Stop, Look, Listen and Think! as we crossed the roads. Lots of people waved to us along the way and stopped to talk.

Connecting with our communities and the people around us improves our wellbeing. It also helps children to recognise their place in the community and be feel proud of where they live.

Back at school we all enjoyed a cup of water and yummy fruit and vegetable platters. There was crunchy celery and carrots, cucumber and little tomatoes that exploded in our mouths! There was cantelope, strawberries, apples, oranges, kiwifruit, and blueberries. In fact, there was every colour of the rainbow!

After a healthy snack the preschool children stayed on to enjoy playtime at school.

 

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.

Ready, Set, Go! - Walking to School at Kerang Primary

Kerang Primary School students want everyone to know that It’s Cool to Walk to School!

The students are writing down tips to inspire all school children across the Gannawarra Shire to be active on the way to and from school, while at school and at home. Tips are placed in the Ready, Set, Go Walk to School Treasure Chest whenever the students think of an inspirational tip they want to share.

This week’s great 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

Students at Kerang Primary School set a great example by walking or jogging around the block every-day. Throughout Walk to School month they are also using pedometers as a new and exciting way to track activity levels and stay motivated.

 

Active bodies need to be fuelled with lots of healthy food like fruit and vegetables and there are lots of delicious vegetables and herbs to be found in Kerang Primary School’s Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden at the moment. Last week the gardening group was collecting spinach, chives, parsley and basil for the cooking group to turn into yummy bolognaise sauce.

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

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

Kerang Christian College Putting their Best Foot Forward for Walk to School

Kerang Christian College students are ready to put their best foot forward as part of this year's Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program.

This will be Kerang Christian's second year participating in the statewide program and having won a regional Walk to School prize in 2015, the students are extra keen to walk, ride and scoot to school, or the school bus, throughout October.

In 2015 100% of students walked, rode, skated or scooted 1784 times during October - that’s about 1281 kilometres - equivalent to walking from Kerang to Canberra and back!

A 500 metre circuit is set up at the school to make sure everyone has the opportunity to participate.

For the second year students will compete against each other in an effort to win a Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy… The winning class of the Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy in 2015 was Year 5/6 with 98.5% participation throughout Walk to School month, closely followed by Year 3/4 with 95.2%. A fantastic effort by both year levels..... Which class will win the trophy this year?

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: http://www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au/
 

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

and our Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: http://gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au/
 

or visit the school's website: http://www.kccs.vic.edu.au/

 

 

St. Josephs Ready to Walk, Ride or Scoot to School

St. Joseph primary school students in Kerang headed back to school on Monday and are ready to walk, ride or scoot to school during October as part of the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program.

This is the fourth year St. Joseph’s have participated - last year 98% of students walked, rode, skated or scooted 2072 times during October - that’s about 1488 kilometres - equivalent to walking from Kerang to Canberra and back!

For the second year St. Joseph students will compete against each other in an effort to win a Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy… The winning class of the Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy last year was GRADE 4 with 68% participation throughout Walk to School month.  Students in Grade 4 walked, rode, skated or scooted to school 493 times out of a possible 722, closely followed by Grade 5/6 with 56%, Grade 2/3 with 55%, Grade 1/2 with 47% and Prep with 44%.

Tanya from Northern District Community Health spoke about the importance of children being active and healthy and finding activities that they enjoy both at school and at home. Some popular activities were swimming and football, chasing the dog and playing on the trampoline; all great activities to get heart rates up and use lots of energy.

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: http://www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au/

 

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

and our Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: http://gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au/
 

 

 

Getting Moving at St. Mary's Primary School

For the second year in a row, St. Mary’s Primary School students will get moving in October participating in the Gannawarra VicHealth Walk to School program.

This is the second year St. Mary’s have participated - last year 98% of students walked, rode, skated or scooted 1671 times during October - that’s about 1200 kilometres - equivalent to walking from Cohuna to Canberra and back!

For the first time classes at St Mary’s students will compete against each other in an effort to win a Gannawarra Golden Shoe trophy…

Tanya from Northern District Community Health spoke about the importance of children being active and healthy both at school and at home. Being active in the morning wakes us up, helps us to focus on learning at school and keeps our bodies in tip top condition. Children were encouraged to find activities that they enjoy so that they fit at least 60 minutes of physical activity into each day. This can be riding or walking to school, to the shops, participating in sports or enjoying time kicking a ball around at home.

 

A fun and active Cha, Cha, Slide! dance session with Pia from the Gannawarra Library Service followed creating lots of happy smiles and laughter.

 

 

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: http://www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au/

 

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

 

and our Gannawarra Walk to School BLOG: http://gannawarrawalkstoschool.blogspot.com.au/