BRISBANE archdiocese’s Catholic school students were among many Australian students who walked to school on May 15 for National Walk Safely to School Day.
A number of schools throughout the archdiocese took the opportunity presented by the national day to encourage students towards environmental awareness and a healthier lifestyle.
Among the schools was Assisi Catholic College, Upper Coomera, where students were joined by parents for a talk about road safety before they began the 2km walk from a nearby park.
Assistant principal for administration Matt Edwards said about 100 students, parents and staff took part in the walk before enjoying a healthy breakfast donated by local businesses, on completion of their journey.
“The aim was to encourage greater levels of activity in students and to promote healthy eating and to encourage them to walk to school on a more consistent basis to reduce the impact of cars and subsequent pollution, which fitted in well with the college’s Franciscan philosophy,” Mr Edwards said.
Principal Dora Luxton said the college community was keen to embed Franciscan values and ideals into all aspects of life.
She said a “Clean, Green, Active and Healthy” slogan also encouraged staff and students to focus on environmental sustainability goals and healthy lifestyles.
“Walk Safely to School Day was a great opportunity to live out these ideals,” she said.
“The response from families who were involved was very positive and there were many requests for the activity to be held on a more regular basis because it was great fun.”
At Mary MacKillop Catholic School in Birkdale, about 600 students took up the challenge.
Principal Michael Kearney said the walk was a great way to help with traffic snarls and a benefit to the environment.
Mr Kearney said walking to school left children energised and healthier for their day ahead and the school was planning two more formal walks throughout the year.
At Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Sunnybank, students who walked to school were greeted by a huge breakfast of fresh fruit.
Assistant principal Ted Brooks said about 200 students took part in the walk with some families parking their cars away from the school to walk the last 200m.
“We had a parent who organised about a pallet-load of fresh fruit that arrived for breakfast and we were kept very busy cutting it up and feeding the students as they arrived,” Mr Brooks said.
“In fact we’re still feeding it to the students for morning teas.”
Students at Sacred Heart Primary School, Sandgate, have been walking to school for most of the year as the school is one of 21 throughout Brisbane involved in the Active School Travel Program, which is a Brisbane City Council initiative encouraging parents, staff and children to walk, cycle, car pool or use public transport to get to or from school.
Principal Chris Bathersby said many children walked and received a “double-sticker” reward for their efforts.
He said parents who joined the walkers received a free coffee voucher from local businesses.
Sacred Heart is aiming to have 80 per cent of all trips to school as “active travel” and is well on target.
During March, 71 per cent of trips were “active travel” with 50 per cent being walking trips.
The National Walk Safely to School Day is aimed at encouraging children to develop healthy habits by becoming more physically active from a young age.
It also aims to help save the environment by generating less greenhouse gas from car emissions.
