International Walk and Roll to School Day Safe Routes to ... · International Walk and Roll to School Day ... San Anselmo Our numbers: ... the great thing is most of them were under

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International Walk and Roll to School Day

Safe Routes to Schools, Marin County

October 2008 Note: This report is the result of incoming emails and photographs that were

forwarded to the Safe Routes to Schools office in Fairfax.

Children and parents lineup for the police escort at Fairfax Town Hall

Manor School, Fairfax

A great celebration of alternative transportation and collaboration between Schools, Town Council, Police and excited members of the community, driven by the commitment of the children. Bikers, rollers of all sorts and walkers met at four specified points in the neighborhoods at 7:50am. All groups gathered at Town Hall at 8:00 sharp and proceeded with police escort past the library at 8:10 and down SFD to Manor. It is estimated that over 300 people participated. There were stickers to count numbers of kids and how they transported themselves, and donated snacks and prizes. The Wednesday Morning Welcome was set side for words of wisdom and support from our Town Leaders. This always makes the kids feel like their

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time and commitment to biking and walking, and energy spent persuading their parents to "leave the car behind" makes a big difference for the planet. The event was a great celebration of alternative transportation and collaboration between Schools, Town Council, Police and excited members of the community, driven by the commitment of the children. Cascade Canyon School, Fairfax

We only have 50 students at our school and some were out sick, so it’s estimated almost 100% participation on October 8. Our parking lot was almost empty. As far as we could tell the only car that pulled in during the normal school arrival time was a truck whose occupants were all walking to Manor School for iWalk! 41 participants (who signed in), including three teachers and our Director. Some families come from the Valley: 12 kids were accompanied by two teachers down the trail from White Hill School. We had three different meetings places: Town Hall/Library for biking, library for walking, top of White Hill for hiking. We distributed Clif Fruit twists and your magnets as well as some stickers, and some fruit and scones. We've only just joined Safe Routes, but are trying to have a regular Walk and Roll to School Day every week. - Reported by Jane Knowles

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DayCaring Preschool, Fairfax

As I left the preschool this morning, the kids were gluing glitter and sequins on the magnets; now they're sure to go home and get placed on the fridge! DeLano’s provided bagels and juice, then after working with Renee, I got them to double the order so that there was bagels and juice for Manor kids as well.

I am not sure how many kids from DayCaring walked/rode to school that morning, but a group of about 12 came over to Wednesday Welcome at Manor School holding a rope and received treats and juice. I put the magnets at the sign in table at the preschool with a note to "remind and encourage all parents to walk/ride to school as often as possible!" DeLano's was awesome in providing lots of food, but the ropes and bars were a big hit as well.

- Reported by Stephanie Lapine

St. Anselm’s School, San Anselmo

Our numbers: Walk 100, Bike 85, Carpool 7 Out of 272 total students we had 70% participation at St. Anslem’s with the majority living beyond walking or biking distance from school, now that's amazing! Some students biked from Sleepy Hollow, Shadow Creek in Fairfax, Dominican in San Rafael, and from Glenwood in San Rafael. Starting from 75% of students who usually drive alone, there was a 2/3 reduction in the number of cars in the morning. We had a joint parade from Creek Park in

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San Anselmo with Wade Thomas Elementary. Police escort and a fire truck. Our bike racks were overflowing bike racks. Treats: photo magnets, school pencils, clif treats, and fresh strawberries. Great weather! -Reported by Maria Bennett

Wade Thomas School, San Anselmo

New Safe Routes to Schools’ Team Leader Ted Fehlabler at the “Meet and Greet” table at Wade Thomas School in San Anselmo. An estimate of 250 children and parents participated on October 8. A police escort and town fire truck led the critical mass walk/bike parade to the school from Creek Park in downtown San Anselmo.

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150 bikes counted at the front campus at Brookside Upper

Brookside Upper Campus School in San Anselmo had 150 students ride to school on October 8. We had a sheriff on a motorcycle escort from the Sleepy Hollow pool and a local police department motorcycle escort from the Sleepy Hollow fire station. San Anselmo Mayor Ted Freeman stopped by the fire house to say hello and send us off. We gave out the magnetic Safe Routes to Schools’ frames and walk/bike/carpool stickers, orange juice and Clif bars. – Eric Selvig

Bel Aire Elementary, Tiburon

Bel Aire had a huge turnout; Kristine Travis-Brown led 22 students over the hill from Corte Madera, Rikkii Andrews manned the front - too many kids to count.

I was really impressed with the turnout from the "Ring Mountain Hikers" from the Corte Madera side of the hill. And ten or so adults, plus a few dogs of course! We left promptly at 7:30, hiked over the mountain with beautiful views and perfect weather and all the kids made it to their classrooms by 8:00 am. Nancy Ryan manned the Cove, and 5th grader Danny Geitheim manned the back Cul-de-Sac. From The Cove we had a group of about 15 walkers and 8 bike riders on the first trip, we made a second trip with an additional 7

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walkers and 8 bikers. Lots of parents joined the procession on foot and on bikes. Picture frame magnets and Cliff treats were distributed to all participating students. – Reported by Margot Geithem

Strawberry Point School, Mill Valley “Give our streets a brake”

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Old Mill School, Mill Valley

Number of participants: 200 out of 300 students. There were five official meeting points to walk to school, and one to bike. We gave away stickers, Zbars & orange juice, and the magnetic picture frames supplied by Safe Routes to Schools. Safeway donated a $20 gift card that I used towards balloons, and orange juice. No pictures unfortunately, my camera is broken. The kids with parent leaders had signs to hold as they walked and came in very spirited. We had over 20 volunteers (one of them was a senior neighbor with grown kids) helping to serve orange juice and lead children to school. The PE teacher also came early to help set up and greet the students, and we had a police officer in front of the school (Sheryl Patton) shaking hands with all the kids. City council member Stephanie Moulton Peters made a sign, led a group of kids from City Hall to school, and stayed to help serve orange juice and hand out stickers. It was a beautiful day and there was a lot of camaraderie. I'd say the day/event was a huge success. – Reported by Igrid Tolson Mount Tamalpais School, Mill Valley

Mount Tamalpais had almost 100% participation with only two families who forgot. There were 40 parent volunteers: as walking escorts, crossing guards, backpack shuttle drivers and food servers. We had mini muffins, orange juice and stickers for all at the finish line. The cliff bar twists went out to the students during the first recess to thank them for their participation. The magnet frames went out as a prize to all who participated. It was a super fun event!!! Two sheriffs helped us keep the students safe on the 20 minute walk from Whole Foods to school. It was great to have them there and they were really into the event.

– Reported by Kristin Maas Tam Valley, Mill Valley

International Walk and Roll to School Day was nice this year with doughnuts and coffee at the start of the morning. Businesses, parents, local residence and government agencies pitched in to help. We accumulated 25 dozen Mini

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Organic Doughnuts from as a donation. Every single doughnut was gobbled down before we left just before 8:00 am. Thanks to Charles McGlashan who came and spoke for a few minutes about the new Tennessee Valley Path, the sidewalks down Marin Ave and other actions being taken in Tam Valley to make Safe Routes. Thanks to Desiree DeLano and the staff at DeLano's Market, who organized the coffee table. She brought her Dad, Mr. DeLano, who owns DeLano's grocery stores. Mrs. Van bravely led the charge and walked in front of the group of around 150 parents and children. – Reported by Kathy Mcleod Edna Maguire, Mill Valley

Our school had the largest turnout so far for International Walk and Roll to School Day: 215 students. The bike racks were overcrowded with 115 bikes. We had 30 kids on scooters and 70 kids walking in from all directions, the great thing is most of them were under their own power all the way from home to school. With the assistance of Brownie Troop 453 we gave away -Cliff Bar fruit twists, fresh fruit, home baked muffins (with ingredients from the Edna Maguire School Garden) and Safe Routes picture frame magnets and key chains. Lisa Zimmer, principal, walked with the students from the Mill Valley Rec Center and the Mill Valley Fire Department also cheered the children on!

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Lynwood School, Novato

Lynwood Elementary School’s 5th Annual “Walk & Roll” was a huge success. A total of 253 students participated this year! We had a wonderful visit from officer Christopher Jacob from the Novato Police Department. Chris was kind enough to hand out his personal officer trading cards to the students that were brave

enough to ask him. All students that participated by walking, biking or carpooling received prizes of either Safe Routes to School cool magnets or snacks from Cliff Kid. Our grand prize winner is Francisco Real Jr. of Mrs. Lipman’s Kindergarten class. He was the lucky student to win the brand new bike and matching helmet donated by Vince Freemantle of the Novato Dental Center. – Reported by Stephanie Miller Rancho Elementary School, Novato Rancho Elementary School in Novato had a fantastic turn out for the International Walk to School Day. Over half of the student body walked, carpooled, or rode their bikes to school. One afternoon kindergartner walked almost a mile to school with her mom that day. There was a lot of excitement about the raffle tickets and the give-aways that were given out that morning. The students signed up for the raffle drawing and also received picture magnets, key chains with a small likeness of the world attached and some safety Halloween lights. The raffle prizes were given out during the school assembly on Friday. One student from each grade who participated on Wed. received either a bike lock, stop watch, bike flashes for the tires, bike bells or an AM/FM radio for walking. - Reported by Kathy Gainer

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Hamilton School, Novato

Hamilton's Walk and Roll to School Day was a big success. An estimated 250 students participated out of a student body of 550. We formally organized six walking/biking school buses. One of them had 25 participants. We had two representatives from the Novato police department along with our principal and assistant principal. We set up tables at the front and back entrance of the school and made the school entrances look festive with balloons. We passed out stickers to children (I walked, I biked, I carpooled, etc...), magnetic photo frames and snacks. We distributed the Clif snacks and supplemented with small boxes of raisins. - Reported by Debbie Lynch

Olive School, Novato

Olive Elementary had almost 200 participants including carpools and buses. There were three walking school buses and three bike trains. Students were given juice boxes, Zbars, fruit twists, magnet picture frames for participating. Olive had donations from Starbucks and Trader Joe’s. Principal Raquel Rose hosted a special assembly to congratulate all the participants upon arrival to school. – Reported by Mark Carrington

Pleasant Valley School, Novato Pleasant Valley had an estimated 200 students participate and a police escort. The event was a huge success and the Marin IJ reported on it. Students were give Clif bars, homemade cookies and small prizes that were leftover from last year’s Frequent Rider spring contest. Reported by Josie Brandis

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Lu Sutton School, Novato

Lu Sutton had about 50 percent participation (approximately 200 plus students and their families) and nearly all the students wore their Walk-A-Thon t-shirts to promote school spirit! The school bike racks were completely filled. Sergeant Eric Riddell, Officer Jacob, CSO Greiner, and CSO Nelson were there to pass out their police cards in the morning and in the afternoon. The kids LOVED seeing the police officers at school, and got a kick out of getting their autographs! Magnets, orange juice, and mini blueberry muffins were also passed out. It was a great morning/afternoon! A huge thank you to the Novato Police department for helping us promote this wonderful event. - Reported by Caroline Perron

Vallecito School, San Rafael

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the bike racks full at Vallecito!” - Phil Slack, Team Leader for Safe Routes to Schools at Vallecito

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Sun Valley School, San Rafael

Participation ranged from 55% in a kinder class to 89% in a first grade class. Average = 73% participation! We had 4 different drop & walk spots -- participants received bubbles, instead of putting car exhaust into the air, they blew bubbles (borrowed from the anti-smoking commercial). We also had a separate meeting spot for bicycles. Give Aways: The Safe Routes to Shools photo magnets and Z-bars/Fruit Twists from Safe Routes & Cliff Bar were very well received. Walkers at drop off points got bubbles. The pencils, bookmarks, key chains and reflector stickers from past years have been great. The class with the most participation each month wins the Golden Sneaker AND a new something for the playground, most often a rubber bouncy ball or jump ropes.

- Reported by Lori Hassett Marin Primary and Middle School, Larkspur

International Walk and Roll to School Day was a great success with a total of 87 students who participated by walking, riding, scooting and skating to school. All participants signed in as they arrive and we posted their names on a board next to the main office for all the kids to see as they walk the halls. The school also put out a poster board noting all the benefits of walking/riding to school. We gave away Safe Routes to Schools photo frame magnets and pencils, orange juice and mini donuts. – Reported by Allison Fragakis

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St. Patrick’s School, Larkspur

St. Patrick’s School had a turnout that was a 40% increase over last year. Total # participants was 125 (last year was 89). Bikers: 40 Walkers: 74 Carpoolers: 11 At the welcome table, we gave away the Clif fruit ropes

and the Safe Routes to Schools’ photo magnets. We were able to keep an accurate count because we had parents and/or faculty at each of the four entrances. Participants were "tagged" with a bike, walk, or carpool sticker. Those with stickers could then proceed to welcome table for treats. The counting process worked out really well. We'll be continuing the Wednesday "bike/walk" days through Thanksgiving. – Reported by Kelly Hanley Bacich Elementary School. Kentfield 75 bikers 48 carpoolers 189 walkers 312 TOTAL participants. Close to 60% of the school. We had our school board members and Superintendent Hal Brown handing out treats to the kids. Parents baked muffins and we gave out the Clif Fruit Twists. Bacich has five walking school buses. - Reported by Karin Neal

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Neil Cummins School, Corte Madera

Neil Cummins had over 200 students collect prizes and punch cards. We handed out the magnets and Zbars. We had an East Corte Madera Ride to School day, which was accompanied by two patrol cars and two officers on bikes. - Reported by Monica Malone

Lycée Français La Pérouse, Corte Madera

# of participants: 200+ (some people estimated 90% of our campus participated so we're probably close to 250 but as you know it is difficult to confirm). What we gave away: Goody bags for kids with Cliff Bars, sunscreen, Safe Routes magnet frames and a free ice cream coupon from Ciao Bella. We had a raffle and gave away a fitness membership, restaurant meals, REI water bottles, toy store gift certificate, art supplies, emergency kits, spa gift certificate, Sonicare toothbrush, Camelback water backpack, Panda Room haircut and the most popular prize--an oversized stuff St. Benard! All items were donated.

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Highlights: The turnout for this event was truly remarkable since it was our first event like this and I had nothing but positive feedback such as "when can we do this again!" And, "we should do this on a regular basis". Also, the Twin Cities Police support was outstanding. We are a challenging school as we have 3 year olds to 10 year olds on our campus and the TCPD got all of us safely to school even with our school sharing the route with 3 other schools. We had organic doughnuts, fruit and organic coffee for treats at the finish of the event along with music. We had a break station on the route sponsored by Five Points Fitness. All refreshments were donated or heavily discounted. I have to say that when I saw the number of families at the parking lot near Nordstrom I was overwhelmed. And, most of the merchants that I approached for a donation were very supportive. – Reported by Linka Watridge