The Sanibel School students to participate in National Walk & Roll to School event
Young bikers and walkers, along with their families, will take to the multi-use paths during the National Walk & Roll to School event next week from the Rosalita’s and Bailey’s parking lot to The Sanibel School campus.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School launched the Vision Zero for Youth initiative in 2016 to link walk, bike and roll to school day events with both elected officials and communities to promote safe walking and rolling to school, and eliminating fatal and serious traffic crashes from occurring.
Sanibel School Fund President Ellen Viciguerra said the school began participating in the celebration a few years ago.
“The Sanibel School Fund is really working a lot on our community partnerships this year,” she said. “We are letting people know what we are doing and developing those partnerships in areas that we haven’t before.”
The National Walk & Roll to School is the first event of the school year where those community partnerships have taken shape.
The week before the celebration, the Florida Department of Transportation is scheduled to visit the school to teach the students about bike safety. Finnimore’s has also become a community partner, as they assist with volunteers and help kids off of their bikes.
Viciguerra said they have partnered with Bailey’s and Rosalita’s for their staging area, and the Sanibel Bike Club will sponsor a flare station at the location.
“It is dark when we start — having a little light is very helpful,” she said of gathering at 6:45 a.m.
The Sanibel Bike Club will provide reflective stickers, neon necklaces and help the kids pump up their bike tires, and adjust their seats if needed.
The Sanibel Police Department will also keep the participants safe along their journey.
The Sanibel School celebrity bike rider Julie Wappes, the fourth grade teacher, will lead the pack that morning to the school campus.
“She has taught for over 30 years at the school. She is going to lead our kids,” Viciguerra said.
The Sanibel Bike Club will also ride along with the kids and parents.
“At 6:55 a.m. the kids will start in route to the school and then along the way ‘Ding’ Darling is going to have a few people handing out snacks and be the mid point cheerleader,” she said.
Once the kids arrive at school, there will be music, and a snack table from The Sanibel School PTA to offer a festive atmosphere before the kids are ushered into school by 7:30 to start their day.
“It’s super fun. The kids that do participate, they really love it. It’s a lot of younger kids whose families make it,” Viciguerra said.
Another community partner, Billy’s Bikes, also offers a hand by transporting the kid’s bikes back to the staging area from The Sanibel School, as well as loaning some bike lights.
“Parents can ride their bikes back, but Billy’s helps transport those back,” she said of the kid’s bikes.
The celebration typically attracts between 40 to 50 kids and their parents, about a quarter of the school population.
Viciguerra said it’s all about getting kids moving, and offering education around bike safety.
We are all “moving as one unit. It’s such a great community event,” she said. “These students, as a school community, also join in unison to get to school.”
Encouragement to ride bikes occurs throughout the year, as the students ride bikes to nearby field trip destinations, thanks to the donation of bikes from Billy’s Bikes.
“It is important to get our kids outside and moving outside of school,” Viciguerra said.
The partnership with the Sanibel Bike Club is another great opportunity, as they are passionate about biking.
“We are happy to have them as a partner and to keep the enthusiasm for biking at the school,” she said. “We work with them to keep our kids moving.”
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