The Best Parts of My Week - 9/19/11-9/23/11

Hi everyone,
   What a week!  We are in full swing!  I hope you enjoy the "Best Parts of My Week"!

.....Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie were ready to go at the beginning of the week!  They were assigned to classrooms this week and the cheers from the classrooms that were picked this week were terrific!  I had the pleasure of bringing Fitness Frankie and Exercise Ernie to their respective classrooms and the smiles from students and teachers alike warmed my heart!

.....Exercise Ernie came to PE this week with the class that was taking care of him.  They were very proud  to show him what PE is all about!

.....Early in the school year I teach a lesson to my primary students called "The Incredible Shrinking Gymnasium".  It is a fun lesson that helps to teach students how to move safely in spaces of varying sizes and shapes.  I always have fun pretending that the gymnasium is indeed shrinking and laughed out loud this week when my second grade class played right along by touching the imaginary wall and agreeing with me that the walls had moved!

.....We are very fortunate to have some great equipment for our program.  This week I assigned pedometers to my students in grades 3-5 and began some introductory lessons on how to use them.  They were so excited!

.....Tuesday and Wednesday nights were "Meet the Teacher" nights at my school.  These nights are always a great chance to meet new parents, catch up with current parents, and talk about our PE program!
Exercise Ernie got into the act as well!  Students in his class wrote notes to their parents about their classroom and included Exercise Ernie in the news!  I had some wonderful conversations with parents and, as has happened in the last few years, talked with some new parents who were also my former students!

.....During one of my lessons this week I was inviting students to challenge themselves.  One of my first graders said:  "I love a challenge!  It makes me smarter!"

.....As one of my classes arrived this week one of my first grade friends said:  "Looking good Mrs. Robelee!"  It made my day!

.....While waiting for a teacher to pick up her class this week our librarian across the hall needed some help with a dry erase board.  I suggested a dry erase cleaner and offered her some that I had.  One of my students said:  "You share with everyone, don't you......"  It made me feel good that he noticed some simple acts of kindness.......

.....During a lesson challenge with one class this week, one student began chanting:  "Never Give Up!  Never Give Up!"  It caught on and soon everyone in the class was saying the same thing!

.....Every day I am thankful to be a part of North Park School.  This week, the support from my colleagues was especially touching.......thank you to all........

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program!

The Best Parts of My Week 9/12/11-9/16/11

Hi everyone,
    Well, it was the first full week back to school and it was a week full of "best parts!"  I hope you enjoy!

.....We began the week with our first North Park Healthy Highway assembly of the year!  It was great fun!  I was impressed at what the students remembered from last year's program and the fact that everyone seems excited to continue our journey down the Healthy Highway!  Fitness Frankie shared his summer adventure with everyone and Exercise Ernie arrived to smiles and laughter!  I am always proud of how our building comes together, students and staff alike, to embrace the programs provided!

.....I was introducing the PE Rules of the Road to my kindergarten students this week.  I explained that classes would have the opportunity to earn their "PE Driver's License" and I showed them the road on the wall that class PE cars would travel down this year.  At the end of the road there are two paper trophies to signify where students complete a lap.  One of the kindergarten students asked what they were.  Another student immediately answered "oh, that's the Piston Cup!"

.....Several of my classes earned their "PE Driver's License" this week after learning and demonstrating the PE Rules of the Road.  They were very excited to receive their class car and it encouraged other classes to work hard to earn their "PE Driver's License" too!

.....One of my students this week stopped to tell me that her class was making very healthy choices in the cafeteria this week!  She thought I should know about it and I was happy to hear it!

.....We have decided to add the Healthy Highway Pledge to our existing North Park Pledge that students say every morning during our morning announcements.  I thought it would be a neat idea to make pledge cards and have the students sign the pledge by class.  It was great to see the students embrace this idea  and the pledge cards look great!

.....We recently had several retirements in my school.  One of my students asked me this week how many more years it would be before I retired.  I responded:   "I am having too much fun to retire!"  She agreed that my job was indeed fun, unless I had to send someone to the "Stop and think about it" center!

.....Fitness Frankie was given a gift by our friends who traveled this summer with us and enjoyed his adventure as well.  The gift was a small bear from Dublin, Ireland who we named "PE Paddy".  I had him hanging around the gymnasium this week and several students recognized him from Fitness Frankie's summer adventure pictures and were excited to see him!

.....At the end of the week two of my students enjoyed a birthday and instead of cupcakes, brought in a healthy alternative snack as a treat.  At North Park, students who do this earn a "Fit Kids" bracelet and earn one mile for their class.  The two students were in the same class and were telling me about the healthy treats they brought for the class.  I gave them their bracelets and one other student raised his hand and told me that for his birthday he was going to bring in his grandma's home-made, whole grain chips.  I said that sounded great and I asked him when his birthday was.  He responded:  "April!"  I guess he is planning ahead!


I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park Physical Education Website for more information about our program!

The Best Parts of My Week......9-6-11--9-9-11

Hi everyone,
     School is back in session!  It was a great week of smiles, new sneakers, and excitement!  I hope you enjoy the Best Parts of My Week!

     Since it is the beginning of the school year, I would like to remind everyone of the origins of this blog. This blog was created as a way to celebrate those wonderful moments that happen every week in my school.  The name came from an experience with my principal when she first began her career at my school.  As we were getting to know each other in that first year, she would frequently ask me (and others) "What was the best part of your day?"  That question helped me to recall the very best parts of each day.  It is so easy to dwell on what goes wrong each day or what part of each day is less than perfect.  However, if I have learned anything during my lifetime, it is that every day is truly a gift and if we take the time to think about it, every day has at least one (usually more) beautiful moment.  This blog is my attempt to remember, communicate, and celebrate those moments......

.....Each year before the students arrive, our district holds a Superintendent's Conference Day during which we prepare for the upcoming year.  It is always fun to see friends and colleagues and share the excitement of the new school year!

.....The first day of school with students is always exciting!  I had the opportunity to greet students as they arrived while I was taking pictures for our school website.  It was a very rainy day, but despite the rain, students were happy to begin the new year and many greeted me with a hug!  One student even shared with me how she exercised during the summer!

.....I was greeted one morning by a colleague who presented me with a "Savannah" bear!  She and her family spent time in Savannah. Georgia this summer and thought Fitness Frankie would like a friend!  I was touched by her thoughtfulness!

.....For some reason the yellow jackets in our area have been particularly aggressive this year and we have had a problem with them in my gymnasium.  As a result, I had to take my students outside for PE at the end of the week.  Since we are just getting started, I took some kindergarten students out to the playground and we reviewed the rules before they played on the equipment.  One particular student was apprehensive to use the "twisty" slide.  This is a tubular slide that twists as it descends.  I asked her why she was afraid and she responded that the slide was fast and dark.  I told her that she could use her feet as brakes and that I would be at the bottom of the slide for her if she wanted to try it.  She agreed and, after making sure that I was indeed at the bottom of the slide, she came down the slide with a huge smile and laugh!  She continued using the slide for the rest of the period, and thanked me at the end of the class for helping her!

.....A first grade student using the playground during that same day told me that he was proud of himself for being able to use a particular piece of the equipment that required a significant amount of upper body strength.  He said "I just had to believe in myself!"  Don't we all?????

.....I would be remiss if I did not share these last experiences as some of the best parts of my week.  I am honored to have recently been named the 2011 NYS Elementary PE Teacher of the Year by NYS AHPERD.  I am humbled by this award and have a difficult time sharing the news myself, but my principal was kind enough to share that news with our faculty during our opening day.  I was overwhelmed by their kind words and congratulatory hugs.  One of our teachers decided to share this news with her class and they responded enthusiastically!  As her students arrived to PE this week I received a round of applause and some wonderful cards!  One of the cards said:  "I always knew you could do it!"; and another said:  "I am so lucky to have you as my PE teacher!"  This brought tears of happiness to my eyes.........It does not get any better than that!  I am truly grateful!  I am looking forward to a wonderful year!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"

Please visit the North Park PE Website for more information about my program.