Pomonal Primary School is getting behind Walk to School month in an effort to encourage healthy and active living in October.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The event urges primary school-aged children to walk or ride to school to create active habits for life.
Students schools and councils can sign up for the event at www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au.
Principal Joanne Pegg said it was not the first time she had organised Walk to School.
“This is my first year at Pomonal, but at my previous schools we used it,” she said.
“I wanted to bring it here and promote it because we are community that likes to be very active.
“I thought it was a great initiative for our kids.”
The school will also organise a community walk to include pupil who live further than walking distance from the school.
Ms Pegg said it would see the whole school take part in the initiative.
“The majority of our kids live within walking distance and are able to walk,” she said.
“But for those who can’t we will hold days where at about we will do a big walk together. We also have a community breakfast in October.”
School parent Emily Dalton’s daughter, Annie makes the short walk for her home, which is 1km away in Pomonal.
Ms Dalkin said the program stimulated children early in the morning before they went to school.
“It encourages them to be out and active in the morning,” she said.
“It gets their mind thinking and I think that helps.
“It is a nice way to start the day and a really good environment out here for them too.”
The proportion of children who walk to school has declined.
Only one in five children aged between five and 17 get the recommended amount of physical activity each day.
The Walk to School initiative is run by VicHealth to combat this problem.
It was established to raise awareness of the physical and social benefits of walking to school. Walking to school helps children reach their recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
