By Erin Smith
Walking School Buses was the topic of discussion at the Healthy Bladen Collaborative meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Nicole Mock, a certified nurse anesthetist, explained the concept to the members of the Collaborative who were present.
“The students would be walking everyday to and from school,” said Mock.
The idea is to get students to add more exercise to their daily routine, learn more about their neighborhoods, socialize more with friends and neighbors as they walk, and to arrive at school on time.
The Walking School Bus program allows parents to meet other parents and it also provides a chance for volunteers to serve their schools and communities.
She said, if the Collaborative were to decide to establish a Walking School Buses program, the students will be walking in all types of weather and they will need to be chaperoned by parents or other school volunteers. Bladen County Health and Human Services Director David Howard said one of things about the Walking School Buses program that will be a big benefit is the encouragement of parental involvement.
The Collaborative also learned about efforts by the Special Olympics of Bladen County to earn accreditation. Shayla Yancey, the county coordinator for Special Olympics of Bladen County, said accreditation is important to the program.
Yancey said on Tuesday, November 21, there will be a Meet and Greet and Committee Interest meeting at the Bladen County Public Library at 6 p.m. A meal will be provided.
Also, Kelsey Edwards, Director of the Bladen County Public Library, shared with the Collaborative a program at the Library called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. The program encourages parents to read to their children from birth until the child starts Kindergarten.
Parents can sign up at any branch of the library and obtain their first reading log. After every 100 books, parents are encouraged to bring in their logs, and their child will receive a small prize. The parents that reach 1,000 books will receive a picture book and their child will receive a certificate and their photo taken with their parents’ permission, said Edwards.
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