Takhini and Porter Creek School Students Receive New Bikes

Monday, 29 April 2019 16:10

The announcement of the new bikes was an exciting surprise for the students of Takhini Elementary today.

Students at Takhini and Porter Creek Elementary School now have dozens of new bikes and accessories after winning a grant from Specialized bikes.

The schools were just two of three schools in Canada to receive the grant after completing a competitive application process, also beating out over forty other schools in the United States.

Takini School Teacher Amanda Bartle says the idea of the grant started from the founder of Specialized bikes himself

The Specialized Foundation idea started from the founder who has ADHD. He always found riding to start his day helped him with focus. He wondered how he can get kids, who are also experiencing similar things, to experience some energy, letting out and excitement during the day."

Vice Principle Lisa Evans says her and Bartle will also be travelling to the United States to learn about the implementation of the program and to see how bike fitness will be incorporated into the students activities.

"Amanda and I are actually going to be attending a training in California coming up in July. We'll get fully immersed in the details of the program. The program is actually researched-based and we are committed for at least two years to collect data from the implementation of the program. Certain classes we'll also be using the bikes daily and weekly for specific times."

Bartle says the application process for the competitions was comprised of two parts.

"Well there was a list of at least 30 questions with a,b and c's in them. There were also a couple of essays to write about how we're going to use it and why our school deserves it. There was a bit of a waiting time and they then told us we made it through the first phase."

Bartle says the second portion of the application was the most creative for the students.

"The second phase was to create a video with their students to tell them a little more about what's our story. It had to be under three minutes, so that was a big challenge... I believe when the Specialized team contacts us, saying yes you've won this grant, they we're cheering just like us in the video, saying ""I am Takhini""."

The schools are now hoping to partner with a Specialized bike carrier in Whitehorse to also help with the implementation of the program.