BOKS Outreach Letter

To: [insert]

From: [insert]

Re: BOKS (Build Our Kids Success)

Date: [insert] Dear [insert]: Recently, I learned about a wonderful program for the children at the [insert] School. BOKS is a before school physical activity program for elementary school age children developed by moms and sponsored by The Reebok Foundation. This program was inspired by the book Spark by Dr. John Ratey of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ratey states that exercise is the single most powerful tool that we have to optimize the function of our brains. Several studies establish that moderate to vigorous physical activity stimulates brain function and creates the physiological conditions for students to be ready to learn. BOKS prepares children for a day of learning and is an important step in helping children to appreciate the benefits of exercise and establishing healthy choices that will last a lifetime. To date, the program has been embraced by several suburban communities in Massachusetts and many Boston Public Schools. At the beginning of 2015, BOKS was running in over 1200 schools in 6 countries. Parents and teachers report that children participating in the program seem to be more alert in class on BOKS mornings, have increased self-confidence and have increased their levels of physical activity between 80 to 120 minutes a week. A typical BOKS session anticipates that children will attend class two or three mornings for forty minutes before the start of the school day for 12 weeks. The program can run once in the fall and again in the winter/spring time frame or can also run continuously throughout the school year. Parents will be responsible for transporting enrolled children to school on BOKS mornings. Children who attend a before school program could be eligible to enroll and participate as well. The daily program consists of a warm-up, a quick stretch, timed running, relay races and many other fun team oriented games. The goal of BOKS is to keep the children moving and having fun. All classes end with a cool down and a quick nutrition talk about making smart choices and then the children transition to class. The BOKS curriculum is easy to understand and implement and trainings are held frequently to assist both parents and school personnel on techniques to run the program. I look forward to piloting this program at the [insert name] school in the fall. If you are interested in finding out more about BOKS or have a desire to be a trainer for the program, please contact [insert name] by [date]. Sincerely, [Your Name]