You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2008.
Well…. did you see it on the front page of the Mercury this week. A front page photo and then a half page spread on page 14!!!
Thanks to EVERYONE who turned up for the photo shoot recently – the photos and article have certainly sent out a great message to everyone at St Jospehs and beyond that the WALKING BUS is the place to be.
IF you (or your parents) haven’t signed up to do YOUR bit to reduce the congestion outside school, help reduce environmental pollution from short journey car use and keep yourself fit all at once… then pop into the office and speak to Jane and pick up your consent form.
See you all next week REMEMBER to be on the bus on friday the 6th June to be in with a chance of winning the family pass to the Snowdome.
Matt
Congratulations to everyone who was involved with the Greenhill Bower on Monday.
As soon as I receive your photos I’ll get them uploaded so you can see just how much fun the children (and adults) had during two preparation weekends and on the day itself.
This year we took second prize… a great achievement which everyone should be proud of.
Keep watching this space for photos!!
Matt
Well done everyone for checking out the Walking Bus BLOG.
Since I added the photos of the May Ball to the BLOG – less than 48 hours ago we have had OVER 300 hits on the site.
I hope that you will all visit the BLOG again AND encourage your children to read the other posts and comment on what is happening within OUR school community.
Matt
The May Ball raised a fantastic….
3010GBP for the Downes Syndrome Educational Trust
AND
2561GBP for St Josephs School…
Everyone who has played ANY part in the raising of such a phenomenal amount for two great causes should give themselves a pat on the back. Of course Rachel Hooper deserves a particularly BIG pat on the back for being the Queen PIn and organising just about everything that happened on the night.
Well done everyone!!
Matt
If you have a GREAT photo from the ball you want to add to the wall of fame drop me an email with the photo attached and I’ll add it ASAP.
Matt
A BIG thankyou to Rachel Hooper and her team for organising a FANTASTIC evening of entertainment last night at The Old School House, Weeford.
Early indications show that the evening has raised almost 5′000GBP which will be split between the school and the Down’s Syndrome Education Trust.
The evening will no doubt be the talk of the town for weeks to come.
If you have some good photos why not send them to me and post them here for all to see.
Matt
Press Release – St Jospehs Walking Bus – May 2008
St Josephs School, on Cherry Orchard, are celebrating this month after running a successful Walking Bus scheme covering two regular routes to school for over 6 months.
The two routes to school, from Holy Cross church and Boley Park were established back in November with the assistance of Sue Benton, South Staffordshire Walking Bus co-ordinator.
In establishing the walking bus we started small and built up the number of trained parents / guardians until we are now able to operate one of the routes three days a week. The Walking Bus at St Josephs School has seen over 60 children sign up to use the bus with the majority of them using it on a regular basis.
The benefits for the school are widespread – including improved health and fitness for the children taking part (a key fact in tackling the potential obesity crisis) reduced number of vehicle journeys every morning (reducing OUR impact on the environment) and the fact that as a result of the Walking bus there will eventually be fewer cars outside the school every morning which means that the school journey will eventually become safer as the number of illegally parked cars and the high volume of traffic subsides.
The children benefit by having GREAT fun whatever the weather – there is always lots of singing and laughter on the Walking Bus. The children who use the bus also benefit by receiving small incentives including water bottles, rulers, pencils and reflectors which are handed out in assemblies.
Parents benefit by no longer having to deal with the stress of find a parking space outside an already bustling school each and every morning. Instead they arrive at the almost desolate meeting points where they can park their cars and leave the children with the trained Walking Bus DRIVERS and be off home almost before the school bell has been rung. The only commitment we ask of any parents / guardians is to “drive” the bus at least once a month in order to take some of the pressure of the regular drivers.
On top of this St Josephs Walking Bus now has its own BLOG www.stjosephswalkingbus.wordpress.com the first Walking Bus BLOG in the county. The BLOG is used to educate parents, children and teachers about the benefits of the Walking Bus scheme and to enable all members of the school to share their experiences of walking to school with friends come rain or shine. The BLOG has also enabled us to have the necessary routes, rotas and contact details readily available 24/7 to all of those involved in the Walking Bus at St Josephs.
Our greatest achievements so far include having over 22 children on the Holy Cross Walking Bus and the fact that all of the children (and parents) have accepted this change in their lifestyle and embraced the benefits it brings to the local community.
In the near future we are hoping to increase the number of days on which the St Josephs Walking Bus operates and potentially increase the number of routes too – however this is dependant upon the continued support of ALL of our volunteer drivers, the school management team and of course the children themselves.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for continuing to get involved and support what WE hope will be a long term solution to a number of local community issues.
If you are reading this and wondering whether or not YOU could get a Walking Bus scheme operating at your school then don’t wait a minute longer contact Sue and let her help you on your way…. you’ll be glad you did.
Matt
Just a few days ago nine parents (drivers) and Sue Benton got together in the foyer of the school to discuss how we are doing with the walking bus? We discussed lots of things including the following;
• Acknowledgement for help from all parents and guardians.
• Notice board for playground
• HVJ’s from office – parents to be encouraged to write names and contact telephone numbers inside the jackets
• Training of sufficient drivers – parents or guardians to contact Sue Benton directly re – training
• Getting more people on board – alleviate the burden for current drivers & rota management
• Obtaining consent from parents to place children’s names on website
• Increasing no of days on which the bus operates – feasibility for both routes to operate 5 days a week
• Options for an after school “ride and stride”
• Management of website / BLOG – potential for some aspects to be handed over to the school (Yr 5 / 6) or computer club
All in all it was a very productive meeting – with lots of plans for the future to encourage parents and pupils to support the bus by joining the team in whatever way they can.
If you are even slightly interested in HOW we are doing then please speak to ANY of the Walking Bus Drivers and let them know what you think…
Keep an eye on the BLOG for more details.
Matt
Ok everyone – listen in because I will say this ONLY once!!!
We have ONE family pass for the Snowdome up for grabs at the start of next term. To have a chance of winning it you will need to make sure that you are on the walking bus just after half term.
On FRIDAY 6th June the drivers of the bus will take a note of ALL of the pupils that are on the bus and hand that list to myself OR Mr Flahive. We will then put all of those names into a hat during assembly and the first name out of the hat will win.
SO…. make sure that you are able to join the Walking Bus on the 6th June… and it could be YOU that is enjoying a FREE trip to the Snowdome to cool off during the summer holidays.
Good luck… see you on the bus!!
Matt Higginson
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