Walking School Bus” at Avondale Elementary School -- 3.22.2013
COLUMBUS PUBLIC HEALTH – Media Advisory
FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 22
Avondale Elementary Students Rock and Roll through Safe Routes to School Columbus
Walking and Biking to School Helps Combat Obesity and Improve Relationships
WHAT
Walk and Roll Mondays with a “Walking School Bus” at Avondale Elementary School to encourage walking and biking to school.
WHO
Safe Routes to School Columbus at Columbus Public Health
WHEN
Monday mornings through May 20, 2013
Walking School Bus departs at 8:15 a.m.
WHERE
Avondale Elementary School
Walking School Bus departs from Glenwood Ave. and Broad St., goes south on Glenwood Ave., then turns east on Town St. and goes to the school on Hawkes Ave.
DETAILS
With permission from their parents, students can join adult volunteers on the “bus” as it passes by their houses on the route. Kids who don’t live northwest of the school can also join the group by asking their parents to walk them to a point along the route.
Kids who join the Walking School Bus receive a passport for their backpack which will be punched each time they participate. At the end of the school year, students with the most punches will be entered into a prize drawing.
The Safe Routes to School program brings back the ability of kids to walk and bike to school, which has been on the decline since the 1970s. When kids walk and bike to school, they get more physical activity to combat obesity and improve relationships with other students, parents and neighbors. The community also benefits from an improved sense of security and less pollution near schools.
Locally, Safe Routes to School Columbus is working to make walking and biking to school safer, easier and more fun for elementary and middle school students. In addition to Columbus Public Health, other partners include Columbus City Schools, The Columbus Division of Police, and the City of Columbus Department of Public Service.
MORE INFO
For more information on Avondale Elementary School’s Walk and Roll Mondays, call Parent Consultant Noor Abubaker at 365-6511, ext. 125.
To learn more about Safe Routes to School Columbus, visit Columbus Public Health at publichealth.columbus.gov.
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