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Welcome to the Wheels & Heels section of the Roosevelt website!  
Find all the information you need to begin walking or biking to school!
(Updated on 12-14-2011)

BIKE RODEO, 2011 Our bike rodeo was great fun this year! We had 13 different stations for the kids to visit, including a few new games and a few new twists on old games. Many thanks to John Egelhaaf of Cycle-Re-Cycle for helping the kids with bike maintenance, Mike Jones of Cycle & Fitness for helping kids wear their helmets correctly, and Patrolman Curtis Wolff of the Lincoln Charter Township Police Department for his help with helmet fit, and for handing out citations for GOOD behavior! We'd also like to thank our local Dairy Queen for their continued support of our program by providing coupons for Dairy Queen treats for our participants. Of course, our volunteers played a huge part in making this rodeo work. We couldn't have done it without our wonderful parents: Lynn F. (mom to Josh and Megan), Courtney S. (mom to Brayden and Paige), Jill & Jerry L. (parents to Reuben and Ella), JoAnn N. (mom to Michael & Jena), Tina & Barry R. (parents to Matthew & Katie), Megan G. (mom to Brynn & Sinjin), and Candie W. (mom to Emily & Tyler). We also had help from previous Roosevelt students: Claire W., Maddie C., and Kendra G.. Middle school and high school friends Carter & Brittany B. lent a hand, as well as some great kids from the Key Club and the National Honor Society: T.J. B, Aaron P., Abraham C., James M., Torri B., Brianna G., Casey T., Kelly R., Sahar A., and Elizabeth Mc. Our Principal, Marcia Bowman, also got involved, awarding kids with Certificates of Completion for trying out every station and complimenting the kids for their efforts.

CONTENTS:

> What is Wheels & Heels?
> The Wheels & Heels Incentives
> Rules for Incentives
> How can I get the incentives I earned?
> What is the Safety Trail?
> Why isn't the Light on all the time?
> How long is the trail?
> What is a Walking School Bus?
> What I need to know about Safety . . .
> How Long Will It Take for Me to Walk or Bike to School With My Child?
> What If We Live Too Far Away to Walk or Bike to School?
> Your PTO Money: How Are We Using It?
> How Can I Get Involved?
> We owe our thanks!
> More Information

> Archives

WHAT IS WHEELS & HEELS?
Wheels & Heels is Roosevelt Elementary School’s walking and biking promotion program.  It has been funded by the national Safe Routes To School program.  Roosevelt was awarded grant money to build and improve local sidewalks and crosswalks, as well as build a “safety trail” on school property.  This money came from the federal government, through a Safe Routes To School program administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).   As part of our grant, we also were given money to develop a program which would encourage our students to walk and/or bike to school, as well as educating our students, our parents, and the community on the safety aspects of walking and biking in our Township.   We hope that this program will provide both parents and children a way to incorporate exercise into their daily life, while demonstrating how to walk or bike to school as safely as possible.  Through the hard work of teachers, staff and parents at Roosevelt Elementary, we have come up with the following programs and incentives.

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THE WHEELS & HEELS INCENTIVES
We know kids, and we know they’ll put more of any effort into walking and biking to school if there’s an incentive at the end of that walk. So, we’ve set up a program to reward participation.  This program begins on the first day of school, September 6, 2011.
How does it work?  It works like this:

1. Get a Wheels & Heels tally card from school.
2. Walk or bike to school.
3. Have your parent initial your card, showing what days you walked or biked to or from school.
4. Choose a foot as your reward!  (The first time you earn a reward, we will also give you a chain to hang your rewards).

Collect all your favorite colors!	For every day you walk or bike to school you get to choose one foot!

5. Once you collect 5 of the small feet, if you want, you can trade them in for 1 big foot!

You can trade 5 "little feet" for 1 "big foot!"

6. Keep walking or biking, and you’ll keep collecting those big and small feet.  Once you have 5 of the big feet, you can trade them in for one of a selection of cool prizes, like those you see below!

You can trade 5 "big feet" for all kinds of really cool stuff!

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THE RULES FOR EARNING INCENTIVES
As always, there are rules.  This being our first year with this program, the rules may change during the course of the year, as we adjust the program, so check back here if you’re not sure.  As of the beginning of the school year, the rules are as follows:

• A parent or guardian must initial your card.
• Initial and date ONE box for each DAY you walk or bike to school (even if you walked to and from school on one day, you still only get ONE box).
• You are responsible for keeping track of this card.  If you lose it, we can give you a new, blank one, but can’t give you credit for boxes you may have filled out on the lost card.
• You are responsible for keeping track of your chain, feet, and superfeet.  If you lose them, we cannot replace them for you, or give you credit for them.
• We may change the program rules, including rules for earning rewards at any level, at any time, as needed.
• We may contact your parent or guardian to double-check that you earned the boxes.  So, BE HONEST.
• Get out there, be safe, and have some fun!
  
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HOW CAN I GET THE INCENTIVES I EARNED?
Children should bring in their score cards on Thursday mornings, beginning on September 15, 2011.  Please note that the card does NOT have to be full before you bring it in.  Children can bring in their card whether they have only one box initialed, or all of them!

Score cards will be placed on the clip on the mailbox outside each classroom on Monday mornings. If your child’s card is in the clip, a volunteer will bring your child to the redemption table, where they can pick out their feet, superfeet, or level 3 prizes.

Your child can redeem for feet even if the score card is not filled up. We will simply black out the boxes that have been redeemed, and give their card back to them to keep marking off the days.

Each child will be given one chain to keep their feet on, the first time they bring their card for redemption. We are sorry, but we cannot replace any lost chains or feet, or give credit for lost score cards.

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WHAT IS THE SAFETY TRAIL?

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WHY ISN'T THE TRAFFIC LIGHT ON ALL THE TIME?
We have the traffic light on a timer so that we save energy and don't light up the neighborhood at night!  We set up the times so the kids can enjoy it and learn from it after school and on weekends.  From now until the end of the school year, it will be on from 2pm to 4pm Monday through Friday, and then 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.
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HOW LONG IS THE TRAIL?
If you take the loop highlighted in the drawing below, you will have walked 710 feet.  Walk about 7.5 laps, and you've walked a mile on the trail.  From our parking lot to John Beers is about 3200 feet (about 6/10ths of a mile), and from the beginning of the sidewalk at Wyndstone, all the way up, past our parking lot, and down the other sidewalk, all the way to Cleveland, will get you 5,150 feet  (only 130 feet shy of a mile) of heart health!

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WHAT IS A WALKING SCHOOL BUS?
A walking school bus is a fancy way of talking about a group of kids and adults who get together to walk or bike to school.  Like a regular school bus, the walking school bus will start at one home or intersection and wend its way to the school, picking up students and parents along the way.

How can I start a walking school bus?  
Check back here soon for contact information for a Wheels & Heels member to help you, or you can simply get together with friends and neighbors and create a schedule all on your own.

Where can I find out whether there’s a walking school bus near me?
If you would like to find out if there’s a walking school bus near you, please e-mail us at wheelsandheels@sbcglobal.net.  We are also happy to help connect neighbors to neighbors, so please e-mail us if you’d like to find out if one of your neighbors has expressed an interest in sharing the biking/walking duties.  Of course, you can always set up system on your own with your friends and neighbors.

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WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING SAFER CROSSING THE STREET, OR WALKING OR BIKING?
You may be surprised to know that children under 10 years old or so don’t have the maturity and judgment to deal with risky situations like crossing the street.   You always need to provide your child with adult supervision when walking or biking to school.  There are a multitude of websites addressing walking and biking safety.  We encourage you to research on your own and find the best teaching method and safety procedure for your family.  If you need a starting point, one good resource is from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA): http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/newtips/pages/tip8.htm .  A very nice pamphlet on crossing the street, directed specifically toward 4-6 year olds, is: http://www.education.pitt.edu/ocd/publications/parentingguides/CrossingTheStreet.pdf .  There are further, more general links, at the bottom of this webpage.

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HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR ME TO WALK OR BIKE TO SCHOOL WITH MY CHILD?
Not as long as you might think.  It only takes 20 minutes to walk from Marquette Woods to the school.  A slow walk from Longhorn in Wyndstone is only 20 minutes.  Of course, biking will be even faster.  Driving will only save you a couple of minutes (if that, once you wait in the lines), will not get you any of your daily exercise, and doesn’t help the environment.  As Dr. Seuss might say, “you do not like it.  So you say.  Try it, Try it! And you may.  Try it and you may, I say.”

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WHAT IF WE LIVE TOO FAR AWAY TO WALK OR BIKE TO SCHOOL?
Fear not!  We haven’t forgotten that many of our students live outside the immediate Roosevelt area, and don’t have safe sidewalks, crosswalks, or trails for their use.  We would like to offer you several suggestions for get up and getting involved.

1. You could park at the Lincoln Township Community Center Park (at 5575 S. Roosevelt Rd.) and walk with your child from there.  It only takes about 5 minutes, and you can avoid the traffic and line hassles, while getting some great exercise and special time with your child.
2. You could drop your child off at a local friend’s house, instead of at school, so s/he can walk to school with friends.  You can timeshare the duties of walking the kids to and from school, so everyone can have some free time.
3. You could leave your child’s bike at a local friend’s house during the week, so your child can ride to school with that friend.
   
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YOUR PTO MONEY: HOW ARE WE USING IT?

During the 07-08 school year, the PTO granted our program funds for the purpose of buying and installing bike racks, a bench and a trash can at the safety trail.  We have purchased and received the bench and trash can, and are hoping to have those installed after a new section of concrete pad is poured for them.  We are holding off on purchasing any bike racks until we are better able to gauge the adequacy of the ones provided by the federal grant.

Further, the PTO earmarked the proceeds from the 08-09 auction for use by Wheels & Heels.  We have used most of this money to install a security camera and a working 3-way traffic light at the safety trail.  We are still assessing the best use for the remainder of the funds.

We greatly appreciate the generosity of the Roosevelt community in supporting Wheels & Heels, and look forward to watching your kids enjoy the safety trail for years to come!

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HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
We would LOVE to have you get involved in our Wheels & Heels efforts! Wheels & Heels meets on the last Tuesday of every month, at 6:30pm, at Roosevelt Elementary School.  If you would like to share your ideas, your time, or your energy, please join us or contact us at: wheelsandheels@sbcglobal.net  We’ll be glad to include you!

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WE OWE OUR THANKS
This project could not have happened without the help of lots of individuals and programs.    We would like to thank Roosevelt’s teachers, staff and families for supporting this effort.  We would particularly like to thank Roosevelt mom Gabrielle Holgate for donating her time and talents in developing the Wheels & Heels logo.  Our funding and continuing support come from the Roosevelt PTO, Principal Marcia Bowman, the Lakeshore Public Schools system, Lincoln Charter Township, the national Safe Routes To School program, the Michigan Fitness Foundation, and the Michigan Department of Transportation, and, of course, parents like you!  Thank you!

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MORE INFORMATION
If you would like more information on Safe Routes programs, or biking and walking safety information in general, please see the following websites:
www.saferoutesmichigan.org
www.safekids.org
www.nhtsa.gov
www.helmets.org

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ARCHIVES