National Ride2School Day, Friday 23 March 2012 is set to see over 150,000 students grab their wheels and ride!

National Ride2School Day is set for Friday 23 March 2012!

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 In the 1970’s, 80% of school students were active on the way to school. Today, only 20% experience the joy of getting fresh air on the school journey. National Ride2School Day provides an opportunity for Australian students, parents and teachers to give riding, walking, skating or scooting to school a go, while celebrating the regular active travellers.

On this day, an active journey to school is normal and the entire school community gets behind it. It is a chance to celebrate on a large scale and to prove it can be done. After showing it’s achievable on this day school communities are encouraged to keep the momentum going throughout the entire year.

National Ride2School Day resources

From media release templates and screen savers ... to newsletter announcements and activity ideas.

We have all the information, tips and templates you need to make your Ride2School Day a success!

Ride2School Day resources

Generating excitement

Getting your school excited about your Ride2School Day will ensure it is an event to remember.

Getting your local community involved

National Ride2School Day is all about getting parents, volunteers and other local community members celebrating the joy of being active.

Student leadership

Who better to understand how to get more students riding, walking, skating and scooting to school than students themselves?

Event day activities

The opportunities to make your day as fun as possible are endless! Here are some ideas to get you started.

Addressing barriers

Not sure where to store all the extra bikes? Do most of your students live too far to ride,walk, skate or scoot from their home?

Win prizes!

Get your students to out their Hands Up! to win fantastic prizes

Curriculum materials

Incorporating riding into the curriculum is a great way for students to understand why it is important to be active on the way to school.

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Generating excitement

Getting your school excited about your Ride2School Day will ensure it is an event to remember.

Getting local media on board

Web tiles

Screen saver

Sticker template

Getting local media on board

One of the best ways to get the community more involved in your National Ride2School Day is promoting it through your local media. Involving local media not only increases community involvement, it also shows the wider community that your school supports active travel.

 To get your local media involved with your National Ride2School Day, follow these simple steps:

1. Download the media release template and personalise where indicated

2. Send your personalised media release to all local media (Tip: send them individual emails as opposed to a bulk email).

3. Call all your local media contacts no later than 24 hours after you have sent the media release and:

• Confirm they have received the media release.
• Ask your local newspaper if they are interested in any photo opportunities regarding preparation for the event &/or covering the event on the day.
• Be as accommodating as possible with your local media’s needs. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to provide you with publicity.

4. If your local newspaper would like to take photos, ensure that:

• Parents/Guardians have signed a permission form allowing their children to appear in the photographs.
• Students photographed on bikes are correctly wearing helmets in all photographs.
  

If you would like any assistance with getting local media on your event, please contact the Ride2School team on (03) 8376 8888 or email ride2school@bicyclenetwork.com.au.

Web tiles

Promote your school as 'active travel friendly' by displaying this website on your school's website homepage.

Screen saver

Remind your students about the event and get them excited by adding a National Ride2School Day to your computer network.

Sticker template

If you need more stickers to give to your students on National Ride2School Day, simply download our template and print on sticker paper.

National Ride2School Day sticker template

Newsletter templates

Keep your school community in the loop with all the details about your National Ride2School Day. We have created newsletter announcements to help you get as many walkers and wheelers on the day.

1st newsletter announcement (4-3 weeks before)

(Name of school) will be celebrating National Ride2School day on Friday 23 March, along with thousands of other schools around the country. We encourage students and their families to leave the car at home on this day and get a taste of the benefits, ease and fun involved in choosing to walk and wheel to school. Parents who are interested in helping out on the day can contact (details of contact person).

2nd newsletter announcement (2 weeks before)

Preparations are well under way for National Ride2School Day next Friday 23 March. To celebrate riding, walking, skating and scooting as fun ways to travel to school, we are organising the following activities on the day:

(list activities. Eg, healthy breakfast, special assembly presentation, casual clothes day – See activity ideas for more information.)

We support our students to walk or wheel to school because:
• Students feel fresh and alert at the beginning of a school day.
• There are fewer cars around the school which eases ‘drop off congestion’.
• Students are more likely to reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity they need each day.
• Students feel happier, healthier and perform better in the classroom.

Parents can join in the fun by walking or wheeling with the students or (list other ways parents can assist) by contacting (details of contact person).

3rd newsletter announcement (1 week before)

National Ride2School Day is just around the corner! A few reminders for the day include:
(list reminders. Eg, students who participate will receive a healthy breakfast, there is a special assembly presentation, wear casual clothes etc).

All students on wheels are required to wear helmets (this includes skaters and scooters). To guard the security of bikes (provide details. Eg we will rope off an area outside the principals office, students will guard bike storage etc. See Bike Parking for more information).

4th newsletter announcement (1 week after the day)

Congratulations to all the students for walking and wheeling to school on National Ride2School Day! We had (provide the results of your Hands Up! survey).

(name of school) would love to see our students keep up the walking and wheeling thought the year as we believe the benefits greatly assist in the students personal and academic development.

Thanks to (include any parents, local businesses or wider community support that you received on the day).

 Getting your local community involved

National Ride2School Day is all about getting parents, volunteers and other local community members celebrating the joy of being active.

Letter to parents

Volunteers

Getting support from local business

Support from Local council or Member of Parliament

How local police can be involved

Letter to parents and fact sheets

Parents in your school community have a strong influence on how active your studetts are, and consequently are key in getting more students riding, walking, skating and scooting on your Ride2School Day. We have included a template letter that you can send to parents to let them know about your plans for National Ride2School Day.

• Download the template letter to parents

Volunteers

Volunteers are invaluable in supporting you and ensuring your school community gets the most from your National Ride2School Day, by performing a number of key tasks, such as:

• Accompany students on their ride / skate / walk to and from school
• Being stationed as guides along bike paths to your school
• Prepare and host a healthy breakfast for students upon their arrival
• Assist with bike parking and storage
• Assist with bike maintenance checks
• Coordinate bike activities
• Assist the student organising committee (if you have one) in getting support from local businesses

National Ride2School Day 2012 - Volunteer request

If you would like assistance at your school, from a Ride2School Volunteer, for National Ride2School Day 2012, please click the button below to complete a short survey (6 questions, 3 minutes), outlining your requirements. We will get back to you as soon as possible thereafter.

Request assistance

National Ride2School Day 2012 - Parents as Volunteers

Involving the school community (parents/ guardians/ family and friends of students) is an ideal way to gain support with National Ride2School Day. The list of possible opportunities is endless! Sign up your keen school community members to help out, and we'll lighten the load for you by contacting them direct to find out their skills, requests and what they might need support with. We'll provide information, advice and resources so that they can help you make your National Ride2School Day the biggest and best to date.

Sign-up parents

Getting support from local business

Here are a few ideas on which local businesses to approach for support:

• Retailers – ask if they would like to donate products or services for your school to use as prizes in a raffle or competition. Great places would be your local bike shop or sporting goods store. Use the Bicycle Network Victoria Bike Shop Finder to locate your nearest bike shop.

• Local fruit shop, bakery or even the supermarket – ask if they would like to donate healthy snacks for students to have when they arrive at school on National Ride2School Day

Tips & ideas for approaching local businesses:

• Arrange for a teacher or parent to accompany students to local businesses and ask for their support.
• Send each business a letter from your school principal requesting support for the school - Download the letter to local business template.
• You have nothing to lose – if you don’t ask you’ll never know!
• Acknowledge each business that supports you in some way (e.g. certificate, letter of thanks, mention in school newsletter).

Support from Local council or Member of Parliament

Inviting local council or your local member of parliament to be part of your National Ride2School Day is a great way to make your school stand out and may also assist in getting support for improved infrastructure.

The best way to approach your local council is to follow these steps:

1. Inform them about your National Ride2School Day – Provide as much detail about your day as possible (i.e. what you are planning - activities etc).

2. Formally invite them to participate in your National Ride2School Day by reffering to this letter template. Here are some ideas on how they could be involved:

• Encourage community support
• Get more schools participating
• Host a special breakfast for students
• Judge a competition
• Offer prizes for participation
• Your local Mayor or Councilor may attend your school assembly
  

How local police can be involved

Students love a visit from local police! They can be great in:

• Speaking to students about the road rules and giving tips about road safety.
• Engraving student bikes to prevent theft.

Who better to understand how to get more students riding, walking, skating and scooting to school than students themselves?

Planning a National Ride2School Day celebration is a great opportunity for student leaders to put their leadership qualities into action.

Here are a few ideas to get your planning started:

• If your school has a Student Representative Council (SRC) ask them to take on some responsibility of promoting and planning the Ride2School Day.

• If your school does not have a SRC, then form a committee of students that show leadership qualities and are respected by their peers.

• Facilitate a brainstorming session with your student leadership group so students can come up with ideas for promoting the event and running activities on the day. Once brainstorming is complete, assign students to coordinate specific tasks so everyone finishes the meeting with actions they need to do before the next one.

• Direct your students to the Ride2School website to check out the resources. They if they would like some assistance in coming up with ideas.

• One of the most important tasks on National Ride2School Day that you can give students is the collection of Hands Up! data. Students can visit each classroom on the day to do a Hands Up! active travel count, then collate the numbers and enter the data on your schools Hands Up! portal.

Involving students in planning your National Ride2School Day not only helps them develop their skills, it also makes them take ownership, which will enhance their passion and excitement for the day.

opportunities to make your day as fun as possible are endless! Here are some ideas to get you started.

Healthy breakfasts

Decorate your bike days

Bike maintenance

Cycle skills

Special assemblies

Fundraising

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Healthy breakfasts

Hosting a healthy breakfast is a great way to make your day special and congratulate the students that made the effort on the day.

Here are some tips:

• Ask local bakeries, fruit shops or supermarkets to donate food and/or drink.
• Ask parents to help you set up and serve food on event morning.
• Not sure what healthy food to serve? Visit the Nutrition Australia website for further information and advice.

Decorate your bike days

 National Ride2School Day provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how fun, east and energising it is to leave the car at home and be active on the way to school. 'Decorate your bike' competitions are a great way to ensure your Ride2School Day is heaps of fun while allowing students to unleash their creativity.

For the 2011 National Ride2School Day Hallam Primary School celebrated with a 'Wacky Wheels Day' whereby students decorated their bikes, helmets and themselves! During the morning assembly, students paraded their creations. Shirley Fletcher, Primary Wellbeing Officer at the school said, "the students as well as the parents really got in on the fun, helping to create a the wonderful feeling of a connected community".

Bike maintenance

Incredibly often, children tell us that the reason they haven’t ridden to school recently is because ‘my bike is broken’. This usually means one of the following:

• a flat tyre
• a puncture
• frayed or broken brake cable
• worn out brake pads

To fix any of this is simple. But if you don’t want to or can’t do it, why not do one or more of the following:

1. Buy a track pump from a bike shop, and get your Student Leaders to run and promote weekly ‘pump’ sessions by the bike racks. Well-pumped up tyres mean less likelihood of a puncture, a more comfortable ride, and is better for wheels

2. Find a willing and experienced parent/teacher who can run a puncture repair session (30 mins) with teachers/parents and/or kids. Ask a bike shop to donate or sell reduced-price repair kits. Fixing a puncture takes just 5 minutes!

3. Find out where the local bike shop(s) is/are and:

• Let parents know how to find it, and approx. prices for bike safety checks and basic repairs
• Ask if they can spare a mechanic(s) for ‘Dr Bike day’ at your school: kids/parents/teachers to drop off bikes in playground for mechanic to check/do basic repairs on during day – bike collection after school. Can ask for gold coin donation if shop charges a fee. In exchange, you can promote the shop’s generosity in your newsletter/posters and they’ll be likely to gain additional clients! The bike shop may even be happy to do an ‘after-school bike kit sale’ – ask them to sell discounted helmets, locks, hi-viz vests, lights, etc

Parents are much more likely to let their children ride to school if they have assurance that their children’s bikes are safe and roadworthy.

Cycle skills

If you’re not yet set up to run Bike Ed sessions, why not offer some fun skill sessions in the playground?

Kids will have the chance to practice their bike handling skills in a completely safe environment, with no traffic or distractions. Once you and the kids are agreed on bike/helmet fit, run over a brief bike check. Tyres should be pumped up, with both front and rear brakes working, the chain should run smoothly and seat/handlebars should be secure. Then make sure they know to use both brakes to slow/stop and they’re off!

Use the playground space to set up a fun but challenging obstacle course using cones, buckets, ropes or hoops. You can design slaloms, funnels/narrowing tracks, stop boxes, and start/finish lines in as big or small an area as is feasible.

Try the course out yourself first and make sure you’ve not set it up too tight, then get them to try it out slowly, then perhaps use a stopwatch to time them on their next go - or if you don’t want them to rush it, show them how they can gain points by riding skilfully and carefully.

Special assemblies

Many schools host a special assembly on National Ride2School Day as a way to reiterate the active travel message as well as congratulating the families who participated. Arranging for special guests to speak is a great way to make your assembly special.

Why not invite the following local community members along to your assembly?

- Local member of parliament

- Local mayor or Councillor

- A member of the local police

- Staff at your local bike shop

- A local cycling champion

Click here for more information about getting your community involved in your celebration.

Fundraising

Need better bike parking facilities? National Ride2School Day is the perfect opportunity to let your school community know about your efforts to improve the schools bike parking facilities. You could host a healthy breakfast or decorate your bike day and ask for a gold coin donation. Or, ask local businesses to donate prizes for a raffle.

Be sure to :

- Advertise in your newsletter - click here for sample newsletter inserts

- Let local media know - click here for resources to engage local media including media release templates.

- Let the Ride2School team know. We have a wealth of expertise and knowledge in getting bike parking facilities in schools. Call us on (03) 8376 8888 or send us an email ar ride2school@bicyclenetwork.com.au

Addressing barriers

Bike parking and storeage

Your school is sure to have a few extra bikes to deal with on National Ride2School Day. If you aren’t quite lucky enough to have a bike shed to store all wheels arriving on the day, here are a few ideas to overcome your temporary storage issues:

Before National Ride2School Day

Select a location for storing the bikes, scooters or skateboards. Our suggestions include:

• Unused lockable rooms such as a multi-purpose room or unused classroom,
• storage shed,
• section of the basketball or netball court
• outside the Principal’s office/staff room.

On National Ride2School Day

• Make your selected area visible. Place signage up that is easy for students to follow. If you have selected an area outdoors, mark the area out with coloured flagging tape, ropes or chairs so it’s bright and visible for all to see.
• If you are not storing bikes in a secure area, for security either store the bikes outside the Principals office/staff room or put students on 30 minute ‘sentry duty’ during the day.
• Do a Hands Up! survey so you know exactly how many extra bikes you had on event day.

Note: If you have a bike shed, or your allocated area has secure items students can attach their bikes to while in storage, request that students bring a lock on Ride2School Day. Add a section in your school newsletter so parents are also aware.

After National Ride2School Day

Now you can see the potential of how many bikes you can get on a typical school day, be sure to contact the Ride2School team to see how we can help your school get permanent and secure bike parking facilities. See how we have helped other schools here.

After all, National Ride2School Day is all about giving your school community a tast of how fantastic it is walk and wheel to school, then keeping the momentum going throught the year.

Part Way is Ok

Many students, live some distance from school. ‘Part way is OK’ is a means to ensure that these students can still have the opportunity to enjoy riding or walking to school on National Ride2School Day.

Part Way is Ok isalso a great way to alleviate traffic safety concerns by getting parents and teachers to meet students at the drop-off points and leading students on the way to school.

Leading up to National Ride2School Day encourage parents/ guardians to drop off and pick up students at a point closer to the school that still enables students to travel the rest of the way to bike, scooter, skateboard or foot. It also minimises traffic congestion within your school parking areas at peak hour pick up and drop off times.

How do I implement Part Way is Ok?

Click here for a step by step guide about how you can implement Part Way is Ok at your school along with heaps of resources you can download.

Win prizes!

Count the number of students that participate in National Ride2School Day, let us know the result and your school will go in the running to win awesome prizes.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Download the Hands Up! count form.

2. Ask students to put their Hands Up! if they rode, walked, skated, scootered, got public transport or were driven to school and record the numbers.

Hot tip: Get student leaders to visit each classroom do this for you.

3. If your school is a member school of the Ride2School program, click here to login to your portal and submit the results to us.

If your school is not a member school of the Ride2School program, click here to become a member school (it is quick, easy and free). Once you have signed-up you will be provided with a password which will allow you to login to your portal on the ride2school website and submit your results to us.

The other option is to fax your completed Hands Up! count form to us at (03) 8376 8800 or via email ride2school@bicyclenetwork.com.au

Curriculum materials

Bicycle Stories

Grand Tour of Australia (part one)

Grand Tour of Australia (part two)

Hot and Cold Weather Bike Fashion

Ride2School Quiz

Ride2School Quiz Answers

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Source: Bicycle Victoria Australia