A Day of Fitness, Fresh Air and Friends

Vacation fever hit Acton-Boxborough Regional High School students a little early this year, thanks to Friday’s clear skies coupled with some rare school-day outdoor time at the school’s annual Physical Education and Health Awareness Day.

Held at Leary Field and the Dick Dow track, the day-long event was attended by students from all grades as well as faculty and administrators, all of whom participated as part of an effort to “get everybody outside, relieve some stress and raise awareness about health and exercise,” said longtime coach and physical education teacher Tony Ammendolia.

According to ABRHS physical education teacher Eileen Flannery, also a longtime member of the department, the outdoor event is an extension of a similarly themed health day held inside the school for several years that included a variety of vendors who demonstrated equipment and promoted health-related services. When that event became cost-prohibitive, said Flannery, “We thought, ‘What else can we do that will get everyone up and moving around?’ So we came up with the idea to move it outside.”

“We wanted to keep drawing attention to exercise and healthy living, so it was important to find a way to do that” after the indoor event folded, said Flannery.

Ammendolia said each member of the physical education department—which includes Flannery, Suzanne Hoag, Parindar Miller, Tom Kamataris and Ammendolia—had a “piece” in planning, and manning, the event.

At the track and field, students could choose to walk, jog or take part in sports and sport-related activities that included Frisbee, football and soccer. Two such students, sophomores Samantha Bircsak and Kyla Sandock, played volleyball in a group and said the day provided a welcome respite from their day-to-day school routines.

“It’s nice. It’s the last day before vacation and it’s good to be outside,” said Bircsak, with Sandock adding that “It can be really hard to get outside time because after school you have to get right to your homework.”

The just-before-vacation timing of Health Awareness Day was no coincidence, said Ammendolia, who, along with other department members, “worked with administrators to figure out a good time to (hold the event), and it worked out perfectly” in terms of the weather.

Though participation in the day wasn’t mandatory, Ammendolia called this year’s numbers “outstanding,” with an estimated 1,500-1,700 students attending. Upping the ante a bit was a by-department contest, the “Fitness Challenge Cup,” which “encourages teachers to get out of their classes and come outside with their students,” said Miller, adding that other staff and administrators also participate on department teams.

In addition to increasing exercise awareness, the day had some other benefits that were perhaps unexpected, but also important. While Spanish teacher Matt Wirzburger appreciated the “perfect timing” of the day and “well-deserved break” provided by the event, he said he also enjoyed the opportunity to see students—and be seen by them—in a different light.

“It’s a nice way for teachers to get to know our students a bit outside of just being their teachers,” Wirzburger said.