A Step in the Right Direction for Pali Elementary

By ANNABELLE GRANDY | Junior Reporter

Oct. 8 was Walk to School Wednesday. Schools across the country use Walking Wednesday to help keep the country clean because it’s a day where people are encouraged not to drive to school. It’s also fun, healthy and makes you feel good inside.

I walk to school a lot with my parents and my two brothers and we walked to Palisades Elementary School on the year’s first Walking Wednesday. We like walking because it is so beautiful and we get to say hi to our neighbors. Walking is also great exercise for your legs.

I am really proud of my school for having Walking Wednesday. We have fourth and fifth -graders who are called “Waste Warriors” and they pass out treats to everyone who walks to school.

Rebecca Hernandez, a fourth-grader, is very passionate about being a Waste Warrior, said, “I love reusing, reducing and recycling, and I just love doing this job!”

Another Waste Warrior, fourth-grader Jordan Judah, said it’s important for kids to be involved in issues like this because “walking helps the environment, which helps nature and all its animals.”

I had the chance to sit down with our Principal Joan Ingle to discuss Pali Elementary’s Walking Wednesday.

“I think every step we do helps to clean the environment,” Ingle said. “I think it’s important that kids are conscious and sometimes they need to remind their parents to help clean up our planet. It gives them a sense of ownership in their community and in the world.”

Crossing guard Rosa Murillo said the children walking to school on that morning were safer than their parents and that parents sometimes run across the street even when she is holding a stop sign. It is important for everyone to be respectful of crossing guards because they are looking out for everyone’s safety. Also, kids need to remember to always stay safe and walk with an adult. Always look both ways and don’t run across the street.

Walking Wednesday has been going on at Pali Elementary for about five years and that’s a lot, but it’s not enough. We need to get all the schools to do it. Right now so much pollution is going on and if everyone helps, we can be the cleanest place on earth.

By TEDDY GRANDY | Junior Reporter

The first Walking Wednesday of the year was Oct. 8. My family and I always try to walk to my school, Palisades Elementary School on Wednesdays. I like when we walk because the mornings are calmer since I don’t have to practice piano.

On the morning of Oct. 8, I walked to school with my dad, my sister Annabelle Grandy and my brother Rhys Grandy.

My brother Rhys is in kindergarten so this was his first Walking Wednesday ever! I interviewed him about what he thought.

Rhys said he liked walking because he liked “spending time with my family, getting exercise and seeing nature.”

Speaking of nature, on our walk we saw beautiful trees, grass, flowers and… a dead cockroach! So, you never know what you will find on walking Wednesday.

I like that Pali Elementary gives students a treat when they walk to school. I asked some other students what they thought about walking to school.

Second-grader Shane Masterson said, “Walking gives me lots of energy.”

Carlie Given , a fourth-grader, said she “likes the lovely air.”

Claire Sibson, a second-grader, said she “wished she could walk every day.”

I love that Pali Elementary does Walking Wednesday. Every school should do it!