October is International Walk to School month! The CDC recommends that children ages 3 through 5 years need to be active throughout the day, while children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 need to be active for 60 minutes every day (see here for more information). In celebration of the fundamental need to exercise, RAFT was present at the Viva EscuelaSJ events at Cherrywood Elementary School on October 5th and Trace Elementary School on October 12th.

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Viva EscuelaSJ is hosted by the City of San Jose Department of Transportation’s Walk n’ Roll program, which aims to teach safe walking and biking skills, such as crossing streets and using bike helmets. The Viva EscuelaSJ events closed streets to vehicles so that the children could enjoy walking and biking safely to school in the morning. Aside from fostering a fun way to arrive at school, the NCBI states that “increasing physical activity and physical fitness may improve academic performance,” especially in mathematics and reading (see here for more information).

The moment the students set foot on the closed street they were greeted and cheered on by their teachers, the Walk n’ Roll team, and local organizations who had tables and booths set up with fun and informative things. At the RAFT table, the children got to create their own paper helicopters and launch them. The RAFT team was also promoting the STEAM Dream Camp for the summer 2023.

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We would like to thank Winnie and the rest of the City of San Jose’s Walk n’ Roll team for having us at Viva EscuelaSJ!