1. Today we’re going to be having a reminder of the special walk to school scheme our school is taking part in.
Who can remember what it’s called? That’s right, it’s called Walk once a Week. Often called “WoW” for short!
The scheme is run by charity Living Streets and more than 400,000 children across the UK take part in WoW each year.
aPRIL 2016

2. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO WOW? Strider the walk to school mascot
Living Streets has a special Walk to School mascot, pictured here. Does anyone know what the mascot is called? His name is Strider. Can anyone tell me what shape Strider is like? Yes, he’s shaped like a foot!

3. HOW TO EARN YOUR WOW BADGE
Walk, scoot or cycle all the way to school or combine a 5-10 minute walk with a car or bus ride.
Do this at least once every week and earn a badge every month!
The rules of WoW - if you walk to school at least once a week, every week, you’ll be rewarded with a special WoW badge at the end of every month.
You can also earn a badge if you scoot or cycle to school, or if you combine a 5-10 minute walk with a car ride (“park and stride”) or bus ride (“ride and stride”).
There are 11 badges to collect throughout each school year and this year’s theme is “Our Healthy Planet”, which explores the world we live in
You can see here the badges for the Autumn Term
The badges were designed last year by pupils in Living Streets’ annual WoW badge drawing competition [which your school might have taken part in].
The badges are made from recycled yoghurt pot material.

4. TOUCANS BADGE
April’s badge is the Toucan badge –Toucans are brightly coloured birds that live in tropical forests. You might recognise pictures of the toco toucan which is the most common kind of toucan, it has a black body, white throat and big orange bill.
Hands up if you think you’ll be able to walk to school at least once every week?

5. Facts about TOUCANS
1. Their large bill is around 19cm and they use it to grab and peel fruit. 2. Young toucans aren’t born with a large bill, instead it grows over time. 3. Hidden in their bill is a tongue of the same length – this helps them catch more snacks, like frogs and insects. 4. Unfortunately toucans aren’t very good flyers, instead they tend to hop through trees. 5. When they’re tired, they tuck their bill under their wing – this helps them keep warm.
Notes

6. BRING YOUR BADGEs TO LIFE
Don’t forget you can bring your WoW badge to life each month.
Use the walk to school smartphone app to scan your WoW badge and watch the scene unfold.
Can you find the achievements hidden within the scenes?
The walk to school app supports WoW through augmented reality technology which allows participants to see their WoW badges come to life with 3D content unlocked via a smartphone app. Participants can venture into a different world each month, by simply scanning their WoW badge and watching the scene unfold.
You can download the app by searching ‘walk to school’ within the App Store and Google Play.
Parents and teachers can rest assured that no personal data will be collected, and we have followed best practice safeguarding guidelines and our wealth of expertise for the content to ensure it is appropriate for children using the app.

7. WALKING TO SCHOOL CAN… Help you to be ready to learn
Teach you about your local area
Help you to save the planet
Teach you how to be sensible on the road
Help you to stay more active and healthy
Give you more time with family and friends
Here’s a reminder of some of the reasons why it’s good to walk to school!
Walking to school can help wake us up in the morning and make us feel happy! If you walk to school then you’ll be more alert when you come into the classroom, and a lot more relaxed and ready to start your day.
The walk to school is a great way to get to know your neighbourhood. When you walk you get to see things you wouldn’t do if you came by car.
Walking is the greenest form of transport. Why is it better for the environment if we walk rather than travel by car? (Take a few suggestions, answers along the lines of: cars release gases that pollute the air and this contributes to global warming, whereas walking is clean and green)
The walk to school provides a perfect time to practise road safety. You get to learn what the most appropriate behaviour on the road is, what type of places are safe to cross and to make good decisions. If you get driven everywhere, you won’t get to learn all these road safety skills.
Walking is good exercise for us. Exercise is important because it helps to keep our body and mind healthy and is good for our hearts, lungs, muscles and bones.
Walking to school is a great time to talk to your family. When you come by car, the driver has to focus on the road more so won’t be able to talk as much. You could meet up with your friends on your way to and from school too – a great time for talking to them!

8. START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON walk to school!