b'Keene Schools Pave the Way for Safe Walking and Bikinghours or less of recreational screen time, one hour or more of physical activity and drink zero sugar-filled beverages (learn more at www.healthynh.com/5-2-1-0-healthy-nh.html). Participation in Walk and Roll days have increased over the years, according to surveys collected, and this past year Walk and Roll Friday became Walk and Roll Tuesday and Thursday, says Corwin.More than half of Symonds Schools 360 students participate. It works like this: Parent volunteers (32 of them) are stationed at neighborhood meeting points (students can walk to these meeting points, or parents can drop them off). Together, volunteer parents and students walk together to school safely twice a week.As an incentive, children have cards and are given a punch on their card for each walk to school. There are seven Mayor Kendall Lane and Beth Corwin pose with Symonds School Walk and Roll schoolchildren. levels of punch cards containing up to 10 punches per card. Tokens are given D id you know that two-thirds ofOver the past year, it has continued toout for each filled punch card that earn parents who live within a quartercatch on. rewards, from a bowling pass at Yankee mile from Keene schools driveSymonds School, one of fiveLanes to a free day at the Keene YMCA. their children there every day? But theelementary schools in Keene, hasGrant money pays for the tokens and reason parents pile their kids in cars andencouraged students to walk or bike torewards, as well as Walk and Roll tee shirts drive a short distance may surprise you. school for the past seven yearsevenfor volunteers, safety vests and a program Its not because kids are demandingbefore Safe Routes to School came tocoordinator. door-to-door service from their parents,town. They put the tokens on their or that they keep missing the bus, or thatBeth Corwin, Symonds physicalcarabiners on their backpacks, says kids these days are too tired (or lazy!) toeducation teacher, says it started with theCorwin. Its very motivating. walk to school.schools Walk and Roll Friday. Once a weekBy the end of the school year last A local committee formed four yearsthroughout the fall and spring the busspring, there were 13 kids who had ago to address this issue found thatdrops kids off one quarter mile away frommade it through all seven levels into the parents drive their kids to school becauseschool (at Yankee Lanes on Park Avenue)schools walking hall of fame.they are worried about their childrensand students walk to school together.Today, Corwin sees more students safety walking to school amidst traffic.Franklin School and Jonathan Danielswalking and biking to school, even on School also participate in Walk and Rolldays that are not officially Walk and Roll.The solution to parents concerns days.Corwin educates families about the A solution to this problemand one thatbenefits of Safe Routes to School through alleviates parents concernshas comePart of a larger movement a regular Walk and Roll newsletter that to Keene and other Monadnock RegionWalk and Roll days are part of theseconnects children to healthy activity towns through the implementation of Safeelementary schools participation in theevery day. Routes to School, a nationwide program5-2-1-0 program. The national programThe newsletter is about how to that encourages children to walk or bike toencourages children to eat five servingsprepare to walk to school in cold weather school (see sidebar). of fruits and vegetables daily, get twoby dressing in layers, how you feel great 12 Healthy Monadnock Update 2015'