Getting to school just got more fun!

Getting to school just got more fun!

Four primary schools in Thames have now taken up an exciting new initiative, originally developed in Tauranga, called ‘Kids on Feet’. It literally has the town ‘buzzing’ with enthusiasm as kids walk towards collecting colourful buttons which hang on their school bags.
It involves participants' having their names recorded on a wall chart and starting off with a foot key ring. After 25 walks have been recorded, a cool attachable button is added to the key ring. As the numbers increase, more buttons can be collected at 50 and 75, an awesome skate board can be collected at 100; more buttons at 125, 150 and 175 and a wicked gumboot at 200. The gumboot encourages children to walk, bike or scooter in all weather - rain or shine - effectively getting 'Kids on Feet'.
Not only are kids from four schools walking every day, since adopting this exciting new program, Parawai School recorded its highest ever ‘Walking Wednesday’ total in recorded history – and this has been running for a few years now!
Staff at Thames South School decided to ‘join in’ and they now have their Feet First chart on the wall in the staff room and teachers can be seen regularly walking to and from school.
Saila Allan from Project Energize, was sharing these success stories with her colleagues in the Health Promotion Roopu at Te Korowai Hauora O Hauraki when they all collectively decided it was time to ‘walk the talk’. Now they have their chart up on the wall and are walking to and from work and organizing walking breaks during meetings. 
This collaborative venture between Project Energize, Te Korowai Hauora O Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel District Council has certainly brought awesome results to the children of Thames who can’t wait to receive their first red button saying ’25 walks’.

Further information: saila@korowai.co.nz, .