• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

The secret to getting Wellesley kids up early and exercising: spinach smoothies, toilet tag

January 14, 2013 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Hunnewell BOKSWellesley elementary schools are piloting a free morning health program called BOKS (or boks… Build Our Kids’ Success) that’s designed to get students’ hearts pumping and brains cranking right before classes starts.  The results have been positive and organizers expect the program will go district-wide before long.

Hunnewell Elementary School dad Chris Cavallerano, who was running a similar program for his 3 boys and some neighborhood kids in his driveway,  spearheaded Wellesley BOKS (If Cavallerano’s name rings a bell, perhaps it’s from his blindfolded 2012 Boston Marathon run.). He partnered with physical education teacher Toni Duval to start BOKS at Hunnewell in November, and attracted 30 kids from grades K-5. Cavallerano and Duval usually act as head trainers, with plenty of parent volunteers to help.

Cavallerano says Fiske and Schofield elementary schools in Wellesley also are piloting BOKS programs and he imagines it will spread district-wide.

BOKS is bigger than Wellesley though.  The program was launched in Natick in 2009, initially as Fit Kidz, by a few moms. They partnered with Reebok, and since then BOKS has expanded across the country (160 elementary schools in 20 states) and the world (194 schools overall, including in Japan, South Korea and Indonesia). Even the White House has taken notice.

Hunnewell mom Suzanne Votapka, who is leading the school’s BOKS program, describes a typical morning session as involving “a skill of the week (situps, burpees, planks, push ups, squats, running), a fun game incorporating the skill and a nutrition tidbit.  Toilet tag was clearly the kids’ favorite.  The kids tagged would have to squat with their elbow out.  They were free by having a teammate ‘flush the toilet’ by pushing the elbow down.  Nutrition highlights were spinach smoothies and pomegranate seeds.”

She asked two of her boys why they like to do it and they responded in unison: “Because it is so much fun!”  Votapka added: “I guess that is the key – making exercise and nutrition fun.” (Here’s a video of a typical class via the BOKS website.)

Hunnewell BOKStars (via BOKS FB page)
Hunnewell BOKStars (via BOKS FB page)

BOKS is held outside, weather permitting, and one bonus is that kids even get to run in the halls once in a while. Other fun twists include occasional participation in the exercises by parents, teachers and custodians.

Cavallerano says he likes to think of BOKS as a younger version of November Project, a community-oriented workout group that has taken hold in Boston.

“The emerging neuroscience behind exercise and learning is really amazing and the benefits [of BOKS] go beyond the mind and body to build a more supportive/positive community at an early age,” Cavallerano says. “I see it as a positive and proactive partnership between parents and a thoughtful and open school administration.  It’s been very cool to be part of.” As for the science, Cavallerano predicts that BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor)  will become the acronym of the future.

The next Hunnewell session starts the week of Jan. 28 and runs until the week of April 8, with BOKS workouts from 7:30-8:15am. Kids typically take part two days a week, though the program itself might extend to four days if there are enough sign-ups to warrant addition sessions.

Feedback from parents, kids and school personnel has been positive, with  Interim Hunnewell Principal Barbara Manfredi and Superintendant David Lussier among the supporters.   At a recent townwide meeting,  the decision was made to allow BOKS to continue and expand in Wellesley, according to Cavallerano.

BOKS isn’t restricted to public schools in Wellesley either. St. Paul School just started a BOKS program last week, from 7:10-7:45am on Tuesdays/Thursdays, according to Dianna Manning.  The inspiration behind the program, she says, is “a desire to help the children of St. Paul be more efficient learners and be focused and ready for the long amounts of time they need to sit during the school day.  I have known friends whose children participate in the program in Natick. They have seen both mental and physical benefits.”

Two other interesting Wellesley angles on BOKS: The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College received funding to conduct a multi-year study of BOKS and other such programs within the Natick public school system; and the Natick mom who came up with the original idea for BOKS was inspired to do so after reading the book Spark by Harvard Medical School’s Dr. John Ratey… whose kids attended Wellesley’s Hunnewell school.

print

Share

Filed Under: Health, Kids

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Wonderful Wellesley

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Cheesy Street Grill
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • An hour in a Wellesley garden—a visit to Little Red
  • Upcoming political debates & forums
  • Wellesley Mothers Forum kicks off new membership year
  • Wellesley readies for Pan-Mass Challenge 2022
  • The Underrated Cure: Gardening’s Effect on Mental Health

Upcoming Events

Aug 11
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Wellesley Neighbors, Open Lunch

Aug 11
1:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Style in the Golden Years

Aug 12
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

Aug 12
1:00 pm

Bach to Rock free instrument petting zoo

Aug 15
1:00 pm

Wellesley Neighbors, Open Lunch

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • Ellen S on The Underrated Cure: Gardening’s Effect on Mental Health
  • Mary Ann on First taste: Wellesley Square’s new Lockheart Restaurant
  • Mary Ann on First taste: Wellesley Square’s new Lockheart Restaurant
  • Michael Maggard WHS '85 on In remembrance: Martha ‘Martie” Cherry Fiske, award-winning Wellesley teacher who fought for job rights
  • Katherine Fellows on Wellesley outdoor watering restrictions to come with a bit of ‘enforcement’

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (418)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (580)
  • Beyond Wellesley (49)
  • Books (368)
  • Business (1,513)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (49)
  • Churches (81)
  • Clubs (229)
  • Construction (296)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,123)
    • Babson College (251)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (43)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (609)
    • Wellesley High School (969)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (70)
  • Entertainment (792)
  • Environment (754)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (164)
  • Food (347)
  • Fundraising (615)
  • Gardens (160)
  • Government (564)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (853)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (4)
  • History (389)
  • Holidays (406)
  • Houses (156)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (854)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (63)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (571)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (76)
  • Outdoors (643)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (333)
  • Religion (132)
  • Restaurants (335)
  • Safety (151)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (123)
  • Shopping (148)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (986)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (395)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (232)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,231)
  • Volunteering (347)
  • Weather (178)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (276)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login