For more pictures go to : http://www.flickr.com/photos/sproutpictures/sets/72157622736913301/
Thank you-s to the Mayor, to the Police and Clemson Univerity's Students for Environmental Awareness volunteers!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
We did it! We walked to school!
It was soooo much fun!!!!! We had more then 273 walkers! Students, teachers, parents, siblings! Even Mayor Abernathy came out to shake hands with all the walking heroes. We were awake, fresh and ready to learn when we got to school - and happy that we kept our air a little bit cleaner for the morning! Let's do this more often!
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3 comments:
fanstastic!
Walk to school day report Nov 20, 2009
Statistics:
Volunteers: 4 CU students from Students for Environmental Awareness; 9 volunteers in neighborhoods leading walking school buses; Mayor Abernathy
Walkers: morning: 268 afternoon: not counted
Totals: Morning: 213 children + approx. 100 adults and younger siblings = 313
# of Cars (19th, 20): Morning: 420, 334 Afternoon: not counted
Note: Counters tried to count only school age children and they conservatively estimated the additional walkers (siblings, parents). Most walkers came via Berkeley Road with a smaller group at back Ashley Estates entrance.
*Counters started counting at 7:30 a.m. I’m guessing we missed about 20-50 people who arrived before that (for chorus, etc.).
Businesses participating:
Clemson Police (crossing guards)
Mayor Abernathy (greeting kids at back entrance)
Trash made: signs for walking school buses were made from old signs and will be reused at the next walk if possible, some tape from sign hanging discarded and old paper fliers at school went into recycling
Publicity:
Melissa Terry posted event on 11-19 on the school website
Email sent to paperless CES families on 11-19, email to neighborhoods by neighborhood members week before.
Fliers around school building and posters in parking lot
Signs along Berkeley (and at Camelot entrance) with walking school bus times
Blog entry gogreence@blogspot.com
Morning announcement 11-18-09 (skit with Sprout!)
Email to teachers asking for light homework on Thursday
Comments from those who participated:
-it was great to finally have more people walking with us
-seemed very safe and was fun
-are we having another green day like last year in the spring?
-my hands are cold
-this is much safer than when we cross the bridge without the police when we usually walk, I wish this could happen more often
-couldn’t we close the bridge 5 minutes every school day?
-will the bridge be closed after school too?
Organizers’s observations:
-children want to walk and were again taking their parents into letting them walk. The neighborhood groups (walking school buses) with friends made the event more fun for adults and children and made the event safer for all.
-concerns about it being too dark were unfounded. It was already light at 7:15 a.m. and most people didn’t start walking before then.
-parents who already walk regularly were unusually supportive of this event and willing to volunteer. They were also excited to have a larger group walking with them.
-the intersection of Frontage and Berkeley is not an effective area for children in large amount to gather while waiting for the police to close the bridge. It may be more effective to have the police close only one lane of traffic and allow continuous flow of pedestrians and cars.
-More publicity to the city residents regarding traffic delays in the week before the event would help drivers to avoid this area unless they are driving to school. We may also want to notify Daniel HS, Edwards MS, Clemson Montessori, and other schools that children from these school might be late due to the Berkeley bridge closing. Perhaps the bridge closing could be posted on all the school websites, not just Clemson Elem’s.
-children did not congregate in the field area to play before school probably because no activities were planned there. Something to “catch” the kids and encourage them to play if they arrive early for school may be good in the future for kids who arrive earlier than usual.
-counters and the Mayor were diverted from the front school entrance to the back school entrance (unknown why this occurred and who diverted them). This made counting significantly more difficult and made it difficult for the Mayor to greet only the kids who walked. Suggest having official greeters and counters stand at the school entrance in the front next time (as kids walk by to the back).
-Counters at the top of the steps at Ashley estates counted walkers from that direction. 5th graders might also be asked to do this task next year.
-Ms. Bodie organized the 5th graders counting cars for the comparison numbers above. Timely arrival of the 5th graders is critical. Consider asking a teacher’s child next time.
-The date for the event was only assigned a few weeks before the event due to delays by the school administration. Suggest having fixed dates for future events. I’m suggesting the international walk to school day the first week of October and the Friday before Memorial Day every school year.
-Teachers may need to be more tolerant of tardies on this day since car drivers had lengthy delays at the Berkley bridge.
-Do we need to inform the bus drivers of the bridge closing? Not sure if students to Edwards and Daniel will delayed by the bridge closing. I think not because buses arrive at CES by 7:30 a.m.
-School administration did not allow biking, walking or biking home, and events for the kids on the playground before or after school hence they were not offered this year.
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