STUDENTS from Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School in Kiara will be walking towards an active lifestyle as part of the 2018 National Walk Safely to School Day on May 18.
The day is a community initiative which aims to raise awareness of the health, road safety, transport and environmental benefits that regular walking can provide for children.
The annual event, now in its 19th year, encourages primary school-aged children to build walking into their daily routine, by walking to and from school, not just on the day but every day.
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READ NOWPhysical education teacher Oliver Blatchford said the imitative got students out and active in the mornings.
“We have done it for many years,” he said.
“A lot of studies show that if they are active in the morning, they are better focused when they are sat down at the desk.”
Mr Blatchford said about half of the students walked or rode to school.
“It is something we need to work on as a school because some of them live far away,” he said.
Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby said one in four children in Australia were overweight or obese and it was expected the numbers would reach one in three children by 2020.
“We really need teachers, parents, carers and the community at large to get behind this event and its objectives,” he said.
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