On The Move
Events Planned for South Carolina Schools In Celebration of Walk to School Day 2012
Sep 28, 2012
October 3, 2012 is International Walk to School Day
COLUMBIA,
SC - September 28, 2012 - The South Carolina Safe Routes to School
Resource Center is highlighting three events among the many
International Walk to School Day events to be held statewide on Oct. 3:
In the Upstate, students and their families at Sterling School in Greenville are invited to celebrate International Walk to School Day by either walking or bicycling to school on Oct. 3. The Nicholtown Spinners, a youth bicycle club, will meet at the Nicholtown Community Center to ride together to school. Meanwhile, students and families will meet at the Fieldcrest Apartments playground to enjoy a healthy breakfast, listen to the Sterling Band, and then walk together over to the school. Approximately 100 people are anticipated to walk or bicycle.
In the Midlands Region, over 200 students, parents, and community supporters at Dover Elementary, of Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5, are meeting at the North Town Hall at 7 a.m. and are walking to school with the help of law enforcement escorts. The Mayor of North, W. Earl Jeffcoat, has participated in Dover Elementary’ s Walk to School Day event in the past and has been invited to participate again this year.
And in the Lowcountry, Goose Creek’s Westview Primary
and Westview Elementary schools have set up two park and walk locations
at local churches. From both of these locations more than 200 students
are expected to walk down the City's Hiker Biker Trail to the school
crossing guards, where they will safely cross and continue the rest of
the way to the school. The City of Goose Creek Planning Department
prepared a safe walking routes map to send home to parents, and the
local police department will have officers stationed at each location to
ensure safety. The Mayor of Goose Creek, Dr. Michael J. Heitzler, will
also be attending the event and walking with the students from one of
the locations.
To find participating schools in your area and to learn more about walk events go to: www.walkbiketoschool.org/go/.
Statewide, more than 194 schools and over 78,000 students, parents, educators and neighbors are expected to participate in International Walk to School Day on Oct. 3 and throughout the month.
International
Walk to School Day is a global event where communities from over 40
countries walk and bike to school on a single day. It began as a simple
idea – children and parents, school and local officials walking to
school together on a designated day. Today, the event has grown to
include thousands of schools. Join families, schools and communities
around the globe as they walk and bicycle to school in celebration of
Walk to School Day every October.
The South Carolina Department
of Transportation’s (SCDOT) Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS)
provides materials and support to South Carolina’s International Walk to
School Day events through the SC Safe Routes to School Resource Center. Contact SC’s SRTS School Outreach Coordinators or go to www.SCSafeRoutes.org for more information about events, materials, and opportunities to participate.
Walk
to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling
and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical
activity among children, pedestrian safety, reducing traffic congestion,
create concern for the environment and building connections between
families, schools and the broader community.
For additional information, please visit these Web sites:
SC Safe Routes to School Resource Center www.scsaferoutes.org
International Walk to School in the USA www.walkbiketoschool.org
National Center for Safe Routes to School www.saferoutesinfo.org
International Walk to School www.iwalktoschool.org
