Valley City, ND — Valley City Public Schools and St. Catherine’s School in Valley City will join schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on October 3, 2012.

Approximately 1100 students from the Valley City schools will be walking to school on Wednesday, October 3, 2012,  along with parents, teachers and community leaders.

Administrators from St. Catherine’s, Jefferson, Washington and the Junior-Senior High Schools with help from Dietrich Bus Service, the Valley City Police Department, School PTO’s and Barnes County ON THE MOVE Partnership are orchestrating the event.

The event will begin at 8:30 am with kids, parents and community leaders walking from various staging areas near each school.

In 2011, International Walk to School Day was celebrated at more than 4,000 events at schools across the United States, along with children and adults in 40 countries around the world.

 

Walk to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment.

The events build connections between families, schools and the broader community.

 

The event is being organized by Barnes County ACHIEVE which is a group of 14 local non-profit/governmental organizations committed to a healthy community.

 

 

For additional local information, please contact Mary Lee Nielson at 840-1580 or email Marylee@hellovalley.com.

 

For additional information, please visit these websites:

Walk to School Day in the USA

www.walkbiketoschool.org

 

National Center for Safe Routes to School

 

 

www.saferoutesinfo.org

 

International Walk to School Day

 

 

www.iwalktoschool.org

 

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About International Walk to School Day

 

  • Walk to School Day was established in the United States in 1997 by the Partnership for a Walkable America. Canada and Great Britain already had walk to school programs in place. In 2000, these three countries joined together to create International Walk to School Day.

 

  • In May 2006, the National Center for Safe Routes to School was established to assist communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bike to school.

 

  • The National Center for Safe Routes to School serves as the national coordinating agency for Walk to School activities in the United States.
  • Walk to School Day began as a simple idea – children and parents, school and local officials walking to school together on a designated day. It is an energizing event, reminding everyone of the simple joy of walking to school, the health benefits of regular daily activity, and the need for safe places to walk and bike. Schools focus on health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment.
  • Organizations supporting International Walk to School Day in the United States include America Walks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, the National Center for Safe Routes to School, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Safe Kids Worldwide, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.