For Walk to School Day this year, several schools held safety assemblies and high-energy WoW! (Walk or Wheel) Days with GreenTown's support. These events help remind kids and their families about the benefits of WoW!ing (walking or wheeling) to school, how to do so safely, and just how fun it can be!
Gardner Bullis Elementary's WoW! Co-Chairs, Nick and Melissa French, invited GreenTown to present walk and bike safety tips at a September school assembly to prep kids for their WoW! Day. On Oct. 6, Gardner Bullis held a HUGE event with a participation rate of greater than 81%, that’s up from 65% last year. And no wonder. The “Fabulous Frenchs” don't hold back! They create a race-like atmosphere complete with a finish line, music, swag, treat tables, and the GreenTown blender bike, of course! An announcer, um, that would be Nick, let everyone know who had just come over the finish line to celebrate their WoW! Journey. The kids and parents had a great time and the class with the highest participation won a pizza party! Congratulations go to Ms. Lutz’s 2nd grade class, with the highest participation rate: 94% of kids WoW!ed to school that day!!
The following week, Seeta Iyer, parent extraordinaire at Almond Elementary, held a Walk to School WoW! event for Almond families. The police came out to hand out bike lights, which help improve kids’ visibility after dark, and stickers. GreenTown had the blender bike there, always a big hit, and provided walk and bike safety tips to students at the morning’s assembly (see below). According to Ms. Iyer, a number of parents remarked on the shorter line at drop-off and the noticeably fewer cars on the way to school. This is what we like to hear: more kids biking and walking, means less traffic congestion at school, and less traffic congestion means greater safety for our kids!
GreenTown also provided Bullis Charter School with stickers and pencils for its Oct. 6 WoW! Day. We’re looking forward to hearing the results.
Learn more about the WoW! program
If you would like to learn more about the WoW! program and how to make it work at your school, contact us at info@greentownlosaltos.org. Lots of helpful info can also be found on our website at: greentownlosaltos.org/schoolswow. Still more resources are available at the City's Safe Routes to School program website.
Take a minute to read through the benefits and safety tips below:
Benefits of Walking and Biking
Really good for the planet! Clean air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Less traffic around school.
Good for your body and mind. See summary of Dutch study here.
And it’s fun, too!! Walking and biking are simply fun ways to get to school with your friends and family.
Walking Safety Tips
Walk on the sidewalk.
Cross the street at the crosswalk and do so carefully. Before you cross, you need to look both ways to make sure no cars or bikes are coming. Look left first, then right, then left again.
Walk with a buddy.
Biking Safety Tips
Wear your helmet properly. See this guide.
Check your bike regularly. ABC means Air, Brakes, Chain.
Ride at a pace that feels comfortable and safe for you. Note that you can ALWAYS walk your bike.
Concentrate on riding in a straight line.
Look out for hazards on your path and practice navigating around them.
Know the rules of the road:
Stop at stop signs.
Walk your bike in the crosswalk.
Learn your hand signals
Be courteous to others on the road or sidewalk (e.g., pedestrians).
This is also a helpful book for parents to review re bike safety and rules of the road.
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