Press release
Bishop Elementary School, Toiyabe Indian Health Project, and Bishop Paiute Tribe join schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on October 5, 2016.
As many as 1700 students in the valley will be walking to school along with parents, teachers and community leaders. Participating along with the teachers and parents are Bishop High School student volunteers, Toiyabe Indian Health Project staff, Bishop Tribal Members, Bishop Police Department Officers and Reserves, California Highway Patrol Officers and local school administration.
The event will begin at 7:20 with kids, parents and community leaders walking from a variety of ‘park and walk’ locations.
Bishop Elementary has official designated ‘Safe Routes to School’ for their students to walk and so all the event meeting locations are connected to those routes. Students living on the east side of Bishop can meet at the following locations and all walk to school together: the corner of East Line St. and Hanby (Air Way Medical parking lot) and the grassy area in front of Whiskey Creek.
Parents interested in driving from their home to park and walk to schools are encouraged to meet at the corner of 395 and West Yaney (Schat’s Roadhouse parking lot). School staff has arranged to drop all their bus passengers off in the parking lot at the corner of West Yaney and Home Street (Catholic Church), so that even students bussed to school will get to participate in this event.
Join adults and students from the Bishop Paiute Reservation in walking the relaxing COSA path to school. Children and their parents are encouraged to meet at the Cultural Center at 7:15am in the morning. Toiyabe, OVCDC, and the Bishop Indian Education Center will be providing will healthy breakfast snacks for all participants.
All students must be on the trail by 7:50am to arrive to school on time. Walking to school allows children to incorporate regular physical activity into their day while also forming healthy habits that can last a lifetime. For more information on the activities happening at the Cultural Center, please contact Serena or Katie at Toiyabe Indian Health Project at 760-873-8851
Big Pine School will play a part in encouraging their students to walk and get plenty of exercise by having an all-school walking event, during school hours, on October 5. For more information on Big Pine’s event, call Ana at 938-2222.
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 pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment.
Walking to and from school also makes it easy for children and adolescents to get the recommended one hour or more of physical activity each day. In addition, these events build connections between families, schools, law enforcement, and the broader community.
If you are interested in volunteering to help walk students to school, or if you would like more information, please contact Karen M. Kong at 760.873.3262 ext. 2112.
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
