As part of National Ride2School Day on Friday 21 March, the Y’s ReCranked in Schools (RiS) team was at Black Hill Primary School, with children involved in the program lending a hand to their peers, providing tips, bike repairs and pumping up plenty of tyres.

The rain held off while 110 Grade 5 and 6 students took part in their Bike Challenge Day, enthusiastically riding laps around their oval in the first few hours of their school day.

The ReCranked team set up in the middle of the event, with a steady stream of bikes and their riders coming in for assistance or information.

The day provided an opportunity for the ReCranked in Schools’ students to apply their knowledge and help their classmates, with their increased confidence and skills shining.

Chloe Dew, the school’s Physical Education teacher and organiser of the Bike Challenge, explained that the annual event is also held to help build the children’s cycling and road safety skills. Having the ReCranked crew and students on hand to advise and demonstrate repairs, added an extra educational experience.

“It was terrific to have ReCranked supporting our students on the day, it elevated the event so much more than previous years as the team were actively teaching our students how to manage basic bike maintenance. It was amazing seeing how empowered our school’s ReCranked team were on the day!”

The ReCranked students had been eagerly looking forward to the event and it was a real highlight for many.

According to Teddy, “I have really liked using the tools and I have enjoyed using them on the bikes. I am looking forward to the exercise and seeing how the bikes turn out.”

Fletcher and Summer gain great satisfaction in getting bikes back in working order. “I like learning about bikes and fixing them and seeing how they turn out,” shared Summer prior to the event.

Fletcher added, “During the program I have really enjoyed helping fix other people’s bikes. Using my skills and helping other kids fix their bikes on Friday will be a really fun time.”

Black Hill Primary School’s Well-being Coordinator, Pamela Hillas, has been closely involved and been part of the students’ ReCranked journey.

“The ReCranked Program has been a fabulous program for our Year 5/6 students. The group has eagerly attended each session and it has been incredible to watch them work together in teams to fix each other’s bikes. They have learned a lot of skills and we have seen them developing more independence within their groups over the weeks as they have needed to problem solve and cooperate with each other,” she said.

“There is so much excitement when they finally get their bikes roadworthy and ride them out the school gate. Ride2School Day gave them the perfect opportunity to put their newfound skills to good use as they assisted their peers with fixing their bikes. This was their time to shine!”

Find out more about ReCranked in Schools and how the program makes a real difference for students and schools here.