Save the date: time to roll into school

Thousands of excited Sunshine Coast students will join 350,000 students across Australia who will roll into the school grounds on Friday 20 March as part of National Ride2School Day.

This year Golden Beach State School will join the nation’s biggest celebration of active travel and host a ‘bike bus’ convoy to celebrate healthy travel and road safety.

The new Golden Beach Bike Bus is a supervised group ride, departing from the Caloundra Powerboat Club, collecting students at Fraser Park before following the coastal pathway and crossing Landsborough Parade into the school.

Queensland Police Service officers will lead the ride, joined by Lightning Netballers along the scenic route of Pumicestone Passage.

The day also marks the official launch of the school’s RideScore Active Schools Program; an incentive-based program aimed at increasing active travel to and from school.

Sunshine Coast Division 2 Councillor Terry Landsberg said National Ride2School Day was the perfect moment to celebrate Golden Beach State School joining the RideScore Active Schools community.

“Ride2School Day is a fantastic reminder of how simple daily routines like riding or scooting to school can make a huge difference to a child’s health and wellbeing,” Cr Landsberg said.

“It marks the perfect day to expand the award winning, world leading active travel program that uses smart beacons and app notifications to give parents peace of mind by alerting them when their child arrives or departs school.

“RideScore is also a Sunshine Coast innovation delivered in partnership with We Ride Australia and has grown significantly since its early trials.

“Research shows the program boosts children’s confidence, independence, resilience and social interaction, while reducing school zone congestion and CO₂ emissions.”

This year, RideScore expanded to three new schools, bringing the total to 14 participating Sunshine Coast schools.

Golden Beach State School Principal Greg Ferdinands said the new bike bus was another fantastic way to build road safety skills and confidence while making the journey to school social and enjoyable.

“One of the best things about both programs, Ride2School and RideScore, is how much fun it makes active travel,” Mr Ferdinands said.

“When our young people start the day active, they arrive more focused, energised and ready to learn.

“Kids love earning rewards, tracking their progress and engaging in a bit of friendly Leaderboard competition, it turns the ride to school into something they genuinely look forward to.”

Council is committed to making active travel safer and easier. More than $460,000 contribution from the Queensland Government’s Department of Transport and Main Roads School Transport Infrastructure Program (STIP) to upgrade the pathways and crossings in Golden Beach which students use every day, helping more families feel confident to leave the car at home.

For more information about the RideScore Active Schools Program, please visit Council’s website and search ‘RideScore Active Schools’.

Why RideScore matters:

Encourages daily physical activity and school readiness
Reduces school zone traffic and improves safety
Supports children’s confidence, resilience and cognitive development
Free for families, funded by the Sunshine Coast Council Transport Levy
More than $464,000 has been injected in improving pathways and crossings in Golden Beach as part of the Queensland Government’s Department of Transport and Main Roads School Transport Infrastructure Program (STIP)
Students can earn prizes and enjoy friendly competition
Parents receive real time peace of mind notifications.

Participating schools:

Baringa State Primary School
Brightwater State School
Buddina State School
Caloundra State School
Chancellor State College
Golden Beach State School
Coolum State School
Currimundi State School
Meridan State College
Nirimba State Primary School
Pacific Paradise State School
Palmview State Primary School
Peregian Springs State School
Talara Primary College.