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Etoile Education, an association grouping together the parents of children in the Strasbourg area attending the European School in Karlsruhe, is organising its third Sponsored Bike Ride on Saturday, 5 May 2007 and we invite you, your family and friends to join in and participate.

The first Sponsored Bike Ride[1] was organised in cooperation with the ESK Bike Programme which began in 2005 when the school bought 30 bikes in order to give more flexible sport opportunities to the children as well as increasing their autonomy and self confidence by learning specific skills associated with bike riding. The bicycle is simultaneously a form of play, a tool of independence and a means of developing psychomotor and physical abilities. The bicycle programme was a new element of the well established ESK “Fit for Fun” programme which aims to develop a healthy life-style for young children with specific weeks with additional sport lessons, information sessions about healthy food and exercises on how to maintain a healthy body. This fulfils one of the European Schools’ aims and objectives which is “to develop physical skills and instil in pupils an appreciation of the need for healthy living through participation in sporting and recreational activities”.[2]

Etoile Education’s Sponsored Bike Ride is our contribution to get today’s youth to look at the many different aspects of riding a bike and increase awareness about the environmental, safety, health and social consequences of how we get to school everyday, be it by bus, tram, car or walking. The idea of more mobility and independence for children is also being advocated by a European Commission project “Kids on the move”[3] and other efforts, such as mobility week and car free day.

Etoile Education has used monies raised during this event to support the ESK Bike programme (donated 6 pre-bikes in 2005) and the ESK Fit for Fun programme (donated sports equipment for the class “play-containers” and    6 picnic tables/benches in 2006). However, the majority of the money raised, particularly through sponsorship, lies untouched in the Bike and Bus Fund. Time is approaching for the European School to finally have its own bus for school trips, day outings, swim team, intra-school exchanges, maybe even a shuttle service etc. and parents have got together determined to raise awareness and the money necessary in order to fulfil this dream.

Etoile Education Sponsored Bike Ride[4]. This year, as in the past, the Bike Ride starts in Strasbourg at 8:30am and cycles 28km via Kehl to Appenweier where cyclists board the train to Karlsruhe. There we meet up with many other families from the school and cycle another 8km across town, through the forest to the European School for an afternoon of food, fun, fitness and “Fahrrad” (bike) activities including the ADAC Competition, Bike Raffle/Tombola, bike repair, police registration and trick cycling demonstration[5].

The ADAC Competition is particularly appreciated by the children. Riding a bike means you must do it safely, which is not always the case and so ADAC, in cooperation with the “Deutsche Post”, proposes a training session called “getting there in one piece” for kids between 8 and 14 years old, which allows them to also test their skills and see where there might be gaps. An obstacle course covering 200 m and including 8 obstacles will consolidate this training on how to ride safely. Helmets are obligatory and after the training the children can demonstrate their biking skills. All participants will get a diploma and/or medal and the best of them can continue to participate in the different regional competitions “Stadt- und Landesmeisterschaften” and even qualify for the European finals.

This year, we are delighted that several teachers and kids from Karlsruhe are joining us in the “Connecting Strasbourg – Kehl – Karlsruhe Challenge”.    If you want to join in, let us know and get the Strasbourg school bus Friday after school (with your bike), stay the night and be ready to bike on Saturday!

Sponsorship. Start getting your sponsors over the Easter holidays. The Section with the most sponsorship gets a prize. The Year with the most sponsorship gets a prize. The class with the most sponsorship gets a prize. And the kid with the most sponsorship gets a prize. Ask your aunts and uncles, grandmother, neighbour and neighbourhood shops for a few euros.

Registration: Do it as soon as possible. Once registered you will get:

- Free Bike Ride T-shirt

- Bike Ride Registration number

- Entry to the ADAC Competition

- Raffle ticket to win a Bike

See you on Saturday 5 May 2007!!!

[1] http://www.eskar.org/2004/newsitem/biking.html

[2] http://www.eursc.eu/index.php?id=132

Etoile Education, association regroupant les parents des enfants de Strasbourg et environs, élèves de l'Ecole Européenne de Karlsruhe, organise sa troisième Tour de Vélo Sponsorisée le samedi 5 mai 2007 et vous invite, vous, votre famille et vos amis à nous rejoindre et à y participer.

La première Tour de Vélo Sponsorisée[1] a été organisée en coopération avec le Programme VELO de l'Ecole Européenne de Karlsruhe (ESK) qui commença en 2005 quand l'ESK acheta 30 bicyclettes dans le but d'ouvrir de plus vastes opportunités sportives pour les enfants, en faisant progresser leur autonomie et leur confiance en eux et en améliorant leur habileté spécifique à la pratique du vélo. La bicyclette est à la fois une forme de jeux, un outil d'indépendance et un moyen de développer les capacités psychomotrices et physiques de l?enfant.

Le Programme Vélo a été un nouvel élément du programme déjà bien établi de l'ESK «Fit for Fun». Son but est de développer chez les jeunes enfants un style de vie sain par le biais de semaines spécifiques, comprenant des cours de sport supplémentaires, des séances d'information sur une nourriture saine et des exercices permettant de garder son corps en bonne santé. Cela satisfait à un des buts et objectifs des Ecoles Européennes : «développer les capacités physiques et initier les enfants à la nécessité d?une vie saine au travers d'une participation à des activités récréatives et sportives»[2].

Le Tour de Vélo Sponsorisée d'Etoile Education est notre contribution afin de permettre aux jeunes d'aujourd'hui de mieux saisir les différentes possibilités de se servir d'un vélo et d'accroître leur conscience des conséquences environnementales, de sécurité, de santé et sociales quelque soit la manière dont nous nous rendrons quotidiennement à l'école, que ce soit à vélo, en tram, en bus, en voiture ou à pieds. Cette idée, «plus de mobilité et d'indépendance pour les enfants», est aussi promu par la Commission Européenne dans son projet «Villes d'enfants, villes d'avenir»[3] ainsi que les initiatives de la «semaine de la mobilité» et du «jour sans voiture».

Etoile Education a utilisé les fonds collectés au cours de cet événement pour appuyer le programme Vélo de l'ESK (don de 6 vélos d'apprentissage en 2005) et le programme FIT for FUN de l'ESK (don d'équipement pour la classe «boîte de jeu» et 6 bancs et tables de pique-nique en 2006). Cependant, le principal de l'argent collecté, en particulier grâce aux sponsors, reste disponible dans le fond Bike and Bus de l'association. En effet, il arrivera un temps ou l'ESK souhaitera se doter de son propre bus pour les voyages scolaires, les sorties, pour l'équipe de natation, pour les échanges interscolaires, où même d'un service de navette, etc.?et les parents sont déterminés à rassembler l'argent nécessaire à la réalisation de ce projet.