WASHINGTON TERRACE — Music blared Tuesday morning as Roosevelt Elementary School students walked, skipped and ran onto school grounds befere being greeted with hula hoops and granola bars.
Students and their families are joining in activities, occurring nationwide, for Walk 2 School Week.
Every day this week students at Roosevelt can participate in different activities to encourage getting out and walking to school. Everyone who attends the school lives within walking distance, so Walk 2 School Week is a big deal and has been celebrated for a long time.
The bonus has been the number of parents who have come out to walk their kids to school this week, PTA President Debbie Noorda said.
“We have a good community. If you give them a reason, they love to get together,” Noorda said, as she punched holes in cards for the students.
Each student was given a card with five punch holes to be punched — one for each day they walk this week.
The class with the most filled punch cards gets a special prize — a golden shoe.
“It’s a very special shoe for the students,” Noorda said.
PTA member Britany Lafitaga is the chairwoman for Walk 2 School Week and worked with other PTA members to come up with different themes for each day.
On Monday, students got their punch cards and met with police officers.
On Tuesday, students got to hula hoop and enjoy treats on the lawn before school.
They will also get to decorate bikes and scooters, carry walking signs and learn good safety measures for the rest of the week.
The PTA ladies figure that about half the student body has participated in the event.
Students ran to greet each other and took turns with the hula hoops while they discussed their plans for the day. Many parents brought along younger siblings in strollers and chatted with each other while they waited for the bell to ring.
Michelle Wright had her two toddlers in tow as she walked about eight neighborhood kids a half-mile to school Tuesday. She said she loves the chance to walk with her kids.
“It gives me extra time to spend with my kids, talking,” Wright said.
She also likes the fact that it’s relaxing.
“It’s a slow moment in a rushed morning,” she said.
The extra activities at school helped motivate her youngsters to walk, she said, and the beautiful weather has been a bonus.
Annie Ludlow, another mom, agreed. She walks to school with her kids most days anyway, but a week like this gives her kids something to be excited about, which she likes.
Justin Skeen is a new principal at Roosevelt this year, and he has been impressed with the PTA’s efforts for Walk 2 School Week.
“The PTA does a great job to promote what’s going on,” he said. “We live in a world where physical activity needs to be promoted and this is a great chance to do that.”
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