West School Students Will Walk to School on Oct. 5

The following is a press release from the West Elementary School:

The in Stoughton will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on Oct. 5, 2011, as part of the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program.   

Many students from the West School will be walking to school on Wednesday, Oct. 5, along with parents, teachers and community leaders.

The event will begin between 7:45-8:15 a.m. depending on their location. The students, parents and community leaders will be walking from their homes or one of the three walking school buses that will be set up at the , and the . 

When the walkers arrive at the school they will be greeted at the front door and receive a prize acknowledging their accomplishment.

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is expected to include 6,500 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in over 40 countries around the world.

Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

The event is being organized by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. There are over 300 elementary and middle schools in 111 communities across the state working with Safe Routes to School, organizing activities and events to encourage students to walk and bicycle to school.

For additional local information, please contact Brendan Dearborn, principal of the West School, at 781-344-7005.

For additional information, please visit these Web sites:

• Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (www.Mass.gov/MassDOT/SafeRoutes)  
• International Walk to School in the USA (www.walktoschool.org)        
• National Center for Safe Routes to School (www.saferoutesinfo.org)
• International Walk to School (www.iwalktoschool.org)