A little rain didn’t stop Clay from holding an impressive Walk to School Day this morning. Hundreds of Clay Elementary students, staff and parents, along with members from the Altoona Police and Fire Departments, gathered at the corner of 1st Ave and Edward Skinner Parkway to walk to school as part of the national Walk to School campaign and to help Iowa in our goal to become the Healthiest State.
Walk Organizers and Clay PTA Co-Presidents, Stephanie Groom and Brittany Kunz, shared that Clay Elementary is one of several Iowa schools that registered to participate in this national event. These walks help connect the community with topics everyone cares about, like having safer routes for students to walk and bike to school and providing healthy choices for our children.
Clay Elementary P.E. teacher, Taylor Bowie, invited Jami Halberl, Executive Director of the Healthiest State Initiative, to join us and she walked along with our students too. She shared, ”The Healthiest State Initiative promotes health and well-being by contributing to programs that make it easier for Iowans to live healthier. Through community, business and education-centered programs, we’re aiming for the top spot among the nation’s healthiest states.”
Other Healthiest State resources that Mr. Bowie has implemented at Clay include the 5-2-1-0 campaign. It represents the healthy habits everyone should strive for every day.
To help remind students of these goals, Mr. Bowie provided them with 5 different colored wristbands to put on their left wrist. Each time they eat a serving of fruits or vegetables, they move a wristband to their left wrist. The goal is to have all 5 bands on their left wrist by the end of the day.
A special thanks to Casey’s General Store for providing treats and water to the students, to our first responders and to everyone in the community that came out to help make this event a success!
#GetYourWalkOn2019
#HealthyChoicesCount
#sepolk
