Go Noosa Schools
Go Noosa Schools is a voluntary travel behaviour change program that encourages school children and their parents/carers to leave the car at home and walk, ride, scoot, skateboard, catch the bus or carpool to school.
The program was identified as a key initiative of the Noosa Transport Strategy 2017-2027 to tackle peak time traffic congestion around school zones.
Benefits of the program
The Go Noosa Schools program aims to:
- improve students health and fitness, often leading to better learning outcomes
- increase road safety around schools with less traffic congestion and illegal parking
- reduce air and noise pollution
- improve the greater school community health and well-being.
Council is currently trialling the new look, Go Noosa Schools program at the Noosaville schools precinct. Noosaville State School and St Teresa’s Catholic College are currently working closely with Council to develop their tailored Sustainable Travel School Plans.
2023 Sustainable Transport Art Competition
Students were invited to create a poster that showcases what sustainable travel in Noosa Shire is all about. Students choose to complete an artwork based on how they travel to school using sustainable transport modes such as walking, riding a bike or scooter, catching the bus, carpooling, or they looked to the future and illustrated what sustainable transport in Noosa will look like in 10 to 20 years’ time.
We are pleased to announce the winners for the 2023 Sustainable Transport Art Competition.
Category one: 5 to 8 years
First prize: Jude, Noosaville State School
Second prize: Milo, St Thomas More
Third prize: Faith, St Thomas More
Category two: 9 to 12 years
First prize: Asher, Noosaville State School
Second prize: Hannah, Noosaville State School
Third prize: Sienna Rose, Noosaville State School
Congratulations to everyone who submitted an artwork.
Sustainable Transport Art Competition 2023 Finalists
Make the move towards sustainable school travel
Leave the car at home and walk, ride a bike, catch public transport or car pool instead.
Every trip counts, by leaving the car at home just one day a week you can:
- reduce your greenhouse gas emissions from private vehicle use by up to 20%
- reduce traffic congestion around the school, less cars equals safer school zones
- increase your health and wellbeing, while having fun.
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It's a date, every Wednesday why not park the car 500m to 1km away from school and walk, ride a bike or hop on a scooter for the last part of the journey. It reduces the number of cars around the school, and it's a fun and healthy way to start the day.
New to bike riding? Bicycle Network offer a series of free learn to ride videos and resources, click here to visit their parents place.
Walk and ride to school maps
- Tewantin State School
- Sunshine Beach State School
- Noosaville State School
- St Teresa's Catholic College
Disclaimer
Things to consider when using the Go Noosa Schools walk and ride maps:
- Asses your own skills and the skills of your children before walking or riding to school and practice your journey to school.
- The routes shown on these maps are suggested only.
- Walk and ride routes to school are not supervised events, parents/carers are responsible for their children’s safety while using such routes.
- The maps are intended to provide information on Active School Travel.
- The locations of symbols on the map are indicative only.
- The inclusion or omission of any service, facility or business in this guide is not to be construed as Council endorsing or promoting a service, facility or business above any other.
- Each time you use a suggested route, you are responsible for looking out for and considering any changes to the environment, including but not limited to construction or footpath works, which would make using the route unsafe.
- While Council has taken care and consideration in mapping the suggested routes, you are ultimately responsible for your own and your children’s safety while using such routes.
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For information on how and where to catch the school bus, please visit TransLink’s site https://translink.com.au/travel-with-us/school-travel
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Car pooling is a great way to reduce the number of cars entering the school zone and it can save you time, money and you don’t have to compete for a parking spot every day.
Rolling out the program
The trial Go Noosa Schools program is beginning to gain momentum. Check out how participating schools are encouraging students and their carers to use more sustainable transport options.
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The Go Noosa Schools program offers sustainable travel in-class presentations to students in years 5 to 7.
The 1 hour presentation covers topics such as:
- Sustainable transport options.
- The benefits of sustainable travel.
- The history of school transport.
- How students travel to school in other countries.
- Primary school students: basic road safety messaging.
- High school students: group discussion on sustainable transport barriers and how to overcome them, and how we can encourage more sustainable travel options for the journey to and from school.
The Go Noosa Schools program is offering presentations to schools across the Shire in Term 3 2021.
The Go Noosa Schools program encourages schools to participate in the following initiatives to help increase participation in sustainable transport modes:
- RACQ Streets Ahead regional road safety program, being delivered to Tewantin and Pomona State Schools in Term 4 2021.
- The Department of Transport and Main Roads Journi road safety program.
- CDC Sunshine Coast school bus in-class presentations and pop-up information sessions.
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The Go Noosa Schools program is offering Noosa Shire high school students a free bike safety check and tune-up. Tune-ups included pumping-up tyres, chain lubrication, plus a brake and gear tune-up.
The initiative will be delivered to Sunshine Beach State High School students on the 27 May 2022.
We look forward to seeing more students and their families out and about on their bikes.
If you would like to get your school involved, please contact the Go Noosa Schools team.
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The Go Noosa Schools program is working with Tewantin Noosa Lions Club and Noosaville State School to develop a walking school bus program.
Tewantin Noosa Lions Club and Noosaville State School launched the Two Feet Tuesday's, walking school bus in Term 1, 2022. The walking school bus runs on the first and third Tuesday of every month.
The supervised 1km walk provides students and their families with a supervised active transport alternative to driving to school.
The initiative aims to provide children with an opportunity to travel to school in a safe and fun environment, while building relationships in the community. Students who walk to school arrive alert, ready to learn and concentrate better in class.
Please contact the Go Noosa Schools team if you would like more information or would like support to get a walking school bus at your school.
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The Go Noosa Schools team are working with Noosaville State School, St Teresa's Catholic College and Cooory State School's leadership teams to increase the functionality of the schools' kiss and drop zone.
Tips for using the Kiss & Drop zone
The Kiss & Drop zone operates similarly to an airport pick-up, drivers are not permitted to stop in the zone for more than 2 minutes.
For the Kiss & Drop to operate effectively, cars need to keep moving. If your passengers are not ready, please keep moving, continue back onto the street to find a park or re-enter the zone.
Please arrive at the zone 5 minutes after the school bell. This will allow students time to walk from their classroom and avoid traffic backing up.
Please proceed to the very front of the zone, stopping halfway down the zone will reduce the number of cars able to enter. Students, please wait at the top of the zone closest to the school, waiting further down will encourage cars to stop.
For the safety of your children, please request that they enter the vehicle from the passenger side only.
Kiss & Drop zones will be monitored and local law enforcement may be required if not used correctly. When used correctly, the Kiss & Drop is a great facility to make pick-up and drop-off more convenient.
The team will be out and about helping to educate parents on how to use the kiss and drop zone effectively and safely.
Keep an eye out in the school newsletter for tips and tricks on how to use the zone effectively.
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On Friday 21 May, the Noosaville State School community rode out and stepped up to raise funds and awareness for World Bicycle Relief.
The students walked over 4.6km from the Tewantin Skate Park to Noosaville State School to demonstrate and raise awareness of the average distance students in Malawi, walk to and from primary school and to encourage more students to walk or ride their bikes to school.
Thank you to the teachers, staff and volunteers who helped on the day and well done to all of the students who participated for rising to the challenge.
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Year 4 students across the Shire are participating in bike riding skills sessions during Terms 2 and 3. The sessions are designed to encourage more children to ride to school and use their bikes more frequently.
- The program will provide every Year 4 student with a 1-hour bike skills session.
- Bike skills sessions are delivered by local company Bike On, who are specialists in delivering bike education programs to primary school students in South East QLD.
- The session provides an introduction to riding, along with basic road awareness including: how to safety check your bike and helmet, practical bike skills such as straight line riding, cornering, navigating obstacles, scanning for traffic and navigating some basic road signs.
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National Ride 2 Work Day - 20 October 2020
Staff from Noosaville State School and St Teresa's Catholic College lead by example on National Ride 2 Work Day. Ten staff members received an e-bike for 24 hours in exchange for sharing the benefits of riding with the students and their colleagues.
Participants were pleasantly surprised at the speed and ease of riding an e-bike to work, with 30% of participants going on to hire or purchase an e-bike from the provider, while 100% of the participants said that they would highly recommend an e-bike for the daily commute.
National Ride 2 School Day - 19 March 2021
To encourage more students to ride their bikes to school, Noosaville State School, St Teresa's Catholic College and Pomona State School participated in National Ride 2 School Day. Students were offered incentives of ice blocks at the primary schools and a pancake breakfast at St Teresa's.
Nationally only two in ten students use active travel modes for their journey to and from school. By participating in awareness days, it is hoped that students and their families form new healthy habits by continuing to participate in active travel as part of their daily routine.
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This competition encourages students to create a poster that showcases what sustainable travel in Noosa Shire is all about.
Congratulations to the 2022 finalists:
Category one (5-8 yrs): Max H, Cayden B Kade R.
Category two (9-12 yrs): Jannah P, Naomi N, Lilah W
Congratulations to the 2021 finalists:
Category one (5-8 yrs): Andrew T, Lucca E, Matilda W
Category two (9-12 yrs): Imogen H, Emily A, Leila C and Ella B