Students at St Thomas’ Primary School, Sale will join more than 350,000 students across Australia in riding, walking, scootering and skating to school on Friday, March 24, as part of National Ride2School Day.
St Thomas’ Primary School, Sale, sport coordinator Grace Duffield says National Ride2School Day is always a welcomed event on the school calendar, promoting active modes of transport and instilling healthy behaviours from a young age.
“It encourages parents who don’t normally have time to make an effort on that one day,” Ms Duffield said.
“Last year, I took a photo of the bikes here at school the day before Ride2School Day and the day of and it was jam-packed; even kids who don’t usually ride, or those who live outside of town, their parents might make an effort to drop them off at the shop or still give them the opportunity to have a go.
“I set up an activity or an obstacle course for the kids who can’t ride or walk to school because they have to catch a bus or whatever can still come and join in and do some exercise.”
National Ride2School Day is an initiative of the Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program, which has been in place since 2006 and aims to help children get their 60 minutes of daily exercise by riding their bikes to school.
“They are starting their day with an active mode of transport, so they are setting themselves up for a good day,” Ms Duffield said.
“They’re outside, they’re moving; a lot of these guys ride together, they’ve got a nice little group, and that’s how they start their day; they all meet up along the way to school.”
The simple act of riding a bike to school provides benefits that are not only physical but also social and mental, supporting children inside and out.
In 2022, a record 370,000 students from 911 schools participated in National Ride2School Day; the Bicycle Network hopes for another record-breaking year in 2023, with participation numbers exceeding 400,000.
Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack said National Ride2School Day is a day full of fun and colour where students, teachers and parents discover the joy of riding and set in motion healthy habits for the future.
“Riding to school can help students perform better in the classroom,” Ms McCormack said.
“Students who actively travel to school are more awake and alert.
“Their concentration levels and understanding of content improves.”
Ms McCormack added that physically active students are happier and healthier.
“They also become more self-sufficient and build resilience.
“National Ride2School Day is a great introduction to the wider program and can be the catalyst to creating a school of healthy, self-confident, active students.”
St Mary’s Primary School Maffra is also participating in Ride2School Day this year, a first for the local school.
“I am always looking for opportunities to encourage my students and school community to be physically active,” St Mary’s Primary School physical education teacher Rebecca Stobie said.
“I am fortunate that at our school, our students are very active, and I thought that students would enjoy participating in this program.
“I think the event will be very successful as our students love physical activity and always embrace opportunities to be active – inside and outside of school. Maffra is a very sporty town, with most students participating in activities outside of school hours. We have a very supportive parent community who I am sure will encourage their children to participate in Ride2School Day.”
Ms Stobie said physical activity provides so many benefits to assist students in and outside of the classroom, such as increased self-esteem and confidence, improved concentration, skill development, such as fine and gross motor skills, and provides opportunities to make friends and enhance social skills.
“I hope that through positive exposure to a wide range of physical activities, my students will develop a love of physical activity which they will carry into their adult lives,” she said.
“Due to technology and devices being so popular in today’s society, I believe it is extremely important to provide as many opportunities for students to be physically active.
“If at school we provide a range of physical activities, it will assist our students in achieving their physical activity recommendations outlined by the Australian Government, which in turn will positively impact our student’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“All this week, we will be promoting Ride2School Day within our school community,” Ms Stobie added.
“Students will complete activities in their classrooms this week from the Ride2School website.
“We are keeping classroom tallies to track students’ movements to school – hoping to see them increase over the week, and we will be running some physical activities on Friday morning before school for students to participate in when they arrive at school.”
National Ride2School Day is a free event open to all primary and secondary schools in Australia; registrations are now open at ride2school.com.au
