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Chatham children did their part in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday.

Jennifer Lavelle took these photos of students as they walked onto the campus. Olivia Whyte can be seen handing Molly Lavelle a "Proud to be Walking!" sticker, and Andrew Furst and Zachary Furman also posed for photos.

Three-hundred and seventy-five students participated in Walk to School Day. The school's Environmental Awareness Committee (EAC) worked with NJ TransOptions to encourage parents, students and teachers to walk or bike to school.

Southern Boulevard used the tennis courts and the gazebo on Southern Boulevard as drop-off points, called "walking school buses" for parents who live too far to walk or who have safety concerns, given the lack of sidewalks or bicycle paths.

Volunteer parents and members of the helped organize the drop-off points. Joe Weiss from TransOptions lent a helping hand to supervise the walk. He said, “TransOptions is committed to working with Chatham Township in furthering their Safe Routes to School needs, and look forward to any and all opportunities in assisting with walk and bike to school activities. We will continue to offer our support in accomplishing the goal of making school zones and the community safer for all pedestrians.”

When the children arrived at school they were greeted by a special playlist of songs made up by Lisa Cohn of the EAC, who, along with her daughter Kelsey (third grade) also handmade a sign up box for the children who participated in the event.

Mark Stevens, one of the Physical Education teachers at Southern Boulevard, directied motor vehicle traffic for the morning drop-off, and his hands were free most of the morning. Stevens said, "As one of the gym teachers I was proud to see so many families walking to school. It is a great way to get some exercise as a family. As the school traffic coordinator, since there was very little traffic, it was a nice break to the normal routine."

As a part of the event, which also promoted healthy eating habits, children received a healthy snack in the form of an apple, donated by ShopRite in Chatham, and a sticker for Walk to School Day.

The school also had a walk around the school grounds for each class so that children who take the bus to school also had a chance to participate in the event.

Principal Ralph Pesapane said, "So many children and parents who don't typically walk to school each day were engaged in our Walk To School Day on Wednesday. It was a pleasure to see so many families exercising early in the morning with a nice paced walk to school."

The parents were asked to fill out a survey from TransOptions, results of which will be used in gathering information about which forms of transportation families use to get to and from school.

Kathy Abbott, the vice chair of the Environmental Commission, helped the commission apply for a state grant through the Safe Routes To School program. The survey results will be included as a part of the data that will be tabulated for grant justification. Abbott said, "We have to first show a need for the sidewalks and bike paths, and then prove that once we receive the grant, the residents will actually utilize those paths to get to school safely."

Do you have photos of your kids and their friends walking to school Wednesday? Upload them directly to this story!

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