Walking School Bus Project

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ATTENTION: Due to the pandemic the Walking School Bus Programs are not officially running. Feel free to use the maps below if they are helpful for walking to school in the meantime:

You can use these helpful resources to support your children to walk to school (or other locations) safely:

Walking School Bus Program Information (Not Currently Active due to Pandemic)

Walking School Bus Registration

Almonte Route and Schedule

R. Tait McKenzie/Holy Name of Mary – Almonte (Augusta St. Park Route – A.M.)

Kemptville Routes and Schedules

To register your child for the Walking School Bus programs please complete the Walking School Bus Registration Form.

What is a Walking School Bus?

A Walking School Bus is a group of children walking to school under the supervision of a trained adult leader. Like a yellow school bus, the Walking School Bus follows a fixed and safe route with designated “bus stops” and “pick up times”. Walking to school is not only a convenient and fun way for your child to travel to school with their peers, but it also promotes a healthy and active lifestyle.

Walking the Rural Way (Walking School Bus) Project

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, with their active school travel partners in Brockville, Smiths Falls and Mississippi Mills, was successful in receiving $100,000 over two years to pilot the “Walking the Rural Way” Project. The project is supported by Ontario Active School Travel, a program of Green Communities Canada with funding from the Government of Ontario. The goal of the project is to increase the number of students in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark who choose active school travel for the journey to and from school. To do this, the project will offer Walking School Bus programs unique to each school and community.

The Walking the Rural Way project is a partnership between many organizations and agencies from Brockville, Smiths Falls, Mississippi Mills, and recently Prescott (November 2018) including:

Walking the Rural Way Project Partners

Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO)
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
Upper Canada District School Board
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario
Green Communities Canada
City of Brockville
Town of Mississippi Mills
Town of Smiths Falls
Town of Prescott
Brockville Police Service
Smiths Falls Police
Ontario Provincial Police
Bartholomew Community Hub
YMCA of Brockville and Area
Volunteer Centre of St. Lawrence Rideau
LifeFit Athletics
Mills Community Support
Commonwealth Public School
Westminster Public School
Duncan J. Schoular Public School
Chimo Elementary School
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Elementary School
R. Tait McKenzie Public School
St. Mark Catholic School
Wellington Elementary School

Which schools are participating in the Walking School Bus Program?

For the 2019–20 school year, there will be 7 schools from 2 communities (Almonte and Kemptville) participating in the Walking School Bus program. The schools participating are:

Holy Name of Mary Catholic School (Almonte)
R. Tait McKenzie Public School (Almonte)
Kemptville Public School (Kemptville)
Holy Cross Catholic School (Kemptville)
South Branch Elementary School (Kemptville)
Académie catholique Notre Dame à Kemptville (Kemptville)
École élémentaire publique Rivière-Rideau (Kemptville)

Additional schools may be added at a later date.

Who can participate in the Walking School Bus?

Any student attending the participating schools listed above is welcome to join! Students using mobility aids may also participate, however a barrier-free route cannot be guaranteed.

Parents/guardians will be required to register each child they wish to participate in the program. Space on the Walking School Bus will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. When all the spaces available on the route have been filled, a waiting list will be created.