Walk to School encourages more kids to get walking, riding and scooting to and from school to encourage healthy habits for life.
And this round saw Leitchville students top the north-western education district for the second consecutive year with an impressive 95 per cent of students taking part in the program, registering 456 walks.
Leitchville Primary teacher Polly Healey said students were rapt to have Geelong captain Melissa Hickey visit.
“I thought the day was absolutely spectacular and the kids just loved her,’’ she said.
“All of our eight students were there and Melissa was very engaging. She taught us different types of games to play with the football, the kids’ favourite one being ‘velcro’.
“We then went onto a few handball and kicking workshops.
“The games we learnt today were so valuable to the students and myself and they’re definitely ones we’ll continue to play in sport and ones our year 5 and 6 students could run themselves.”
Hickey said being active was a big part of her primary school years.
“I remember when I was at school I was always very active,” she said.
“Cricket in summer and football in winter and playing markers up at lunchtime. I loved being active and any chance I could I would be outdoors with my sisters and friends.”
VicHealth acting chief executive Dr Lyn Roberts said it was fantastic to have AFL and AFLW players on board to support and encourage kids to establish healthy habits.
‘‘Our partnership with the AFL Players’ Association and the support of players like Melissa Hickey has helped to inspire kids and parents to embrace active travel,” she said.
“It’s pleasing to see that 52 per cent of children who took part in the program kept walking to school as part of their usual routine after finishing the program – we hope this visit from Melissa will inspire Leitchville Primary School kids to keep up their efforts well into the future.”
