Over 100 students from the Spencer Borden Elementary School on President Avenue are attending a weekly after school Boot Camp activity as part of the Healthy Kids Klub that operates throughout the year. Volunteer parent Heather Borges and a dozen or so parents supervise the children for an hour each week. The session begins with ten minutes of running and walking around the gym to get them warmed up. "I really don't have to encourage them," notes Borges. "They just take off on their own. They have an amazing amount of energy, and you can tell they're really enjoying it," she adds. The children then divide into smaller groups for basketball, hula hoop, jumping rope, and a variety of challenges. The program helps to keep children active and away from more passive pursuits like television and electronic games. The parents also run a half-mile walking group three mornings a week to encourage exercise in the morning. Click here to see the video of the walk. Click here for the Herald News article. For more information about the program, contact School Wellness Coordinator Marcia Picard. 
 

(Top row) Students get a ten-minute workout at the beginning of the session with a walk or run around the gym. (Middle row, left) Healthy Kids Klub organizer Heather Borges and Heather Areias line up a group for the first activity. (Middle row, center) Parent volunteer Lout Pimental gathers another group for basketball. (Middle row, right) Parent volunteer Nikki Pimental comforts one of the children. (Bottom row) Students gather for hula hoops and rope jumping, accompanied by parent volunteers.

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