Health boost before class

By Shaun Inguanzo
STUDENTS at Keysborough Park Primary School kicked up their heels last Monday as part of a nationwide initiative to encourage students to walk to school.
Walk Safely to School Day, endorsed by the Federal Government, was aimed at teaching students about road safety, the environment, and the importance of fitness all in one simple activity.
Keysborough Park Primary School principal Margaret McKenzie said students walked to school with their parents and then enjoyed a healthy breakfast before class on Monday.
“We first got into it last year.
“All schools in Victoria received a package identifying this national Walk Safely to School week.
“It is supposedly designed to encourage walking, given statistics about childhood obesity. Walking to school is desirable as an avenue to getting exercise.”
In addition to the health benefits, Ms McKenzie said students had classes on pedestrian safety and the benefit to the environment of not using cars.
The other aim of the program, Ms McKenzie said, was to encourage parents to be involved and to walk their children to school and teach them to do it safely.
The school used to participate in the Walking School Bus program, which relied on parents to walk a group of children to school, stopping the group at students’ homes to pick them up, similar to a bus service.
However, Ms McKenzie said the program failed because not enough parents could take part in it. “From a management point of view it collapsed,” she said.
“But generally the school community supports the idea of many kids walking to school.”