Students at the Brown School participated in the Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day, an event that is one of three flagship days organized through MA Safe Routes to School. Co-organizers Kate Melillo, counselor educator, and health and physical education teacher, Sharyn von Trapp, made the event especially fun and engaging by adding a Winter Olympics theme to increase student participation.

When students arrived at school, they were welcomed to run laps around the schoolyard perimeter, with the Olympic theme song playing in the background. They received one straw for each completed lap. For every five straws, students were given an Olympic “torch” to run with, crafted from pool noodles topped with fabric “flames.” The Brown School PTA provided Olympic medals, pencils, and healthy snacks for the students at the end of the exercise.

What was most satisfying to Kate Melillo and Sharyn von Trapp was that many students who aren’t usually motivated to exercise in the mornings were completely engaged because of the Olympic theme. It was so successful that they’re considering another theme for the next Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day, which is scheduled for May 4. Visit www.somerville.k12.ma.us/wellness to find out more about the district’s wellness efforts and resources.