Golden Plains Shire kids and families are encouraged to get active this October by taking part in VicHealth’s Walk to School program – what a great opportunity to improve children’s health and wellbeing!
The program is free, easy to participate in and a fun way for kids to get active and learn healthy habits – for life. It can also be a great way for kids to build confidence and make friends.
View media release to find out more.
Get involved
Increase walking to, or around, primary schools
There are two ways that kids can get involved: through participating schools or as individual students. As parents, all you have to do is encourage your child to walk, ride or scoot to school in October – please choose a safe route and wear appropriate protective gear.
For those families who live too far from school to walk to school, parents can:
- Park a distance from school and walk the remaining way, with park and walk locations to be identified in some townships (some schools may also have a community walk or a walk at school, and we encourage students and families to support these programs)
- Encourage kids to walk around their school yards – as long as kids are getting active!
Visit the Walk to School website
Contact your child’s primary school
Get in touch with your child’s primary school and see if they’ve signed up. Participating schools will receive weekly fruit deliveries, funding for a walk to school event and the opportunity to participate in Golden Plains Rocks on Facebook – a treasure hunt for hand painted rocks.
Participate in 'Golden Plains Rocks' – local competition
Kids can get involved by participating the Golden Plains Rocks program, which is another great way to improve physical activity in October and make the journey to school even more fun! Golden Plains Rocks is a treasure hunt for hand-painted rocks. Kids (and adults!) decorate a rock, then play ‘hide and seek’ for them on their journey to school or whilst walking around their local neighbourhood. Rocks can be collected from the office at participating schools or Haddon Community Learning Centre or you can find your own. The idea is you decorate your rock, hide it and post a clue to the location on the Golden Plains Rocks Facebook group, which will be live in October sometime.
Participate in ‘Decorate your Shoes’ – Victorian competition
This activity is run by VicHealth and involves parents encouraging kids to decorate their shoes, bikes or scooters. Parents are then encouraged to post happy snaps or quick videos of their children’s creations to the VicHealth – Walk to School Facebook page.
Find out more
To find out more about local Walk to School activities, phone Belinda from Council’s Health and Wellbeing team on 5342 7000 or visit the official Walk to School website.