We know many local primary school families love riding to school with their children. But as students transition from primary to high school, building those independent riding skills can be daunting!
Last month, a group of Year 6 students at Moreland Primary School and Year 7 students at Coburg High School (CHS) took part in a Ride & Stride Transition day. With their teachers, they rode from Moreland Primary along the Merri Creek Trail to CHS. At CHS, they participated in a bike skills session, toured the school and checked out the bike workshop and shed.
Year 7 students from CHS volunteered to share their wisdom about going from primary to high school and helpful hints on building confidence to ride to school independently. All the Year 6 students that attended are headed to CHS next year and now have some new Year 7 mates to help them settle in.
Principals from both schools also joined in and are excited to continue the transition program together and with other schools.
Practice what you preach
“I was driving to school every day but wanted to try a healthier alternative. As Principal, it’s important to practice what you preach! I trialled one of the free Ride & Stride e-cargo bikes for a month and loved it so much I bought my own e-bike to get to school every day. It’s cheaper, healthier and a much more enjoyable commute. It was great to ride together with the students on their transition day.” – Maria, Moreland Primary School Principal
Building confidence
“We want to encourage more of our students to ride to school, and by partnering with local primary schools we can build that confidence early on and make the high school transition a little easier to navigate.” – Brent, Coburg High School Principal
As part of the Ride & Stride program, Physical Education (PE) teachers from both schools received Bike Ed training and are now qualified to teach cycling skills sessions to their students.
On the day, the PE teachers and the CHS Sustainability Teacher delivered the workshops, covering safe bike handling skills, on-road and path rules, journey planning and more.
We’re looking forward to working with more local primary and high schools through our Ride & Stride program to build students confidence and capability in riding to school.
To enquire about the Ride & Stride program, please contact zerocarbon@merri-bek.vic.gov.au
For more information on e-cargo bikes, hear from families who have made the switch.
