The Best Parts of My Week: 11/25-11/26

Hi everyone,
     Yes - the dates on this blog reflect only two days!  It was a short week as we did not have school Wednesday-Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday and Monday and Tuesday were only half days for students as parents and families came to school for report card conferences.  It has been a wonderful break and I am ready to begin December!  Even so, there were some special moments last week that I would like to share as the "Best Parts of My Week".....

.....During Monday afternoon I created a bulletin board in the hallway with pictures of our recent cooperative unit.  The theme of this bulletin board is "Why PE?" and in September I asked third grade students to contribute their thoughts.  I decided to continue the theme and add approximately 80 pictures as an answer to the question.  I did not anticipate the interest in the bulletin board!  I immediately noticed parents stopping in the hallway looking at the pictures and smiling!  The next morning, students were doing the same as they looked for themselves in the pictures!

.....My upper elementary students are learning about the sport of volleyball.  As they have been learning  different skills, I have asked students to work in groups of three.  One of the three has been assigned the role of "Coach".  The coach's job is to watch students performing a task and identify when students use specific cues and complete the skill correctly.  I have been very proud of our "Coaches"!  They have embraced their role and have been a positive influence in helping their friends learn correct techniques! When I asked the students if it helped them to know that a coach was watching them practice they said yes!

.....After a class that had completed some Volleyball skill stations this week one student exclaimed:  "That was really fun!  I think I dreamed that I played Volleyball!"

.....Each year I challenge my fifth grade students to be the best at the PE Password program.  I explain that a fifth grade class a few years back embraced the program so well that they told me the PE Password every chance they got, even if it was not during PE class.  This year's fifth grade has taken this challenge to heart!  One fifth grade class in particular passed by the gym and without knowing if I was in there or not, each student said the PE Password loud and clear as they walked by!  

.....I have been enjoying the success of our Fitness Frankie to Go program this year!  Students and families have been so supportive and the healthy adventures have been wonderful! This week the Fitness Frankie to Go packs came back with terrific pictures and stories of a variety of healthy adventures from bicycle riding to healthy food choices!

.....As students left school on Tuesday for the Thanksgiving break there were so many smiles and wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I could not be more thankful for my school!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education

The Best Parts of My Week - 11/17/14--11/21/14

Hi everyone,
     While we are reminded at this time of year to be thankful, it is easy to forget about all of the things - big and little - that we should be thankful for all year long.....I am so thankful for so much professionally and personally.  I ask my students to show their "attitude of gratitude" and I am going to attempt to practice what I preach every single day.......

.....We celebrated the 50th Day of School this week!  Our primary students and teachers dressed up as if it were the 1950's and at the end of the day I organized a Sock Hop in the gym.  It is a wonderful tradition and this year did not disappoint!  Students and adults were so enthusiastic as we danced the Twist, Hand Jive, Lollipop Dance, and even worked on our hula hoop skills!  We are so thankful to be able to continue this tradition.  Our administration believes in the positive connection between physical activity and academic achievement and fully supports these special and creative projects.  I am grateful..... 

.....As part of our efforts to create a healthy environment, we encourage students to bring healthier alternatives to birthday cupcakes when they celebrate a birthday at school.  This week one of my students brought in the most wonderful treat!  It was a basket of bananas and each banana had a small party hat!  Each banana was decorated with a cute face and the basket also contained just the right amount of dark chocolate to accompany each banana!  How amazing is that?

.....Our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador program is going well!  We have a great group of students and this week they were so helpful with our "Stuff the Bus" program.  Students and families were asked to donate items for our local food pantry in anticipation of the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Our Student Ambassadors "adopted" a younger classroom to help with this task and many times this week I saw the ambassadors using teamwork to carry donated items to the bus!

.....As I work on my questioning techniques (a building wide goal this year) I began to use a poster that has three statements:  What I know, What I want to know, What I learned.  While this technique may not be knew to the classroom, it is new to me and I was excited to try it out.  Since we are just beginning a unit on volleyball, I asked my students to talk to a friend about what they already know about volleyball as well as what they want to know about volleyball.  I was so impressed with the responses! Not only did students know more than I thought, they were very thoughtful about what they wanted to know.  Some wanted to know about the history of volleyball, others wanted to know about the rules and skills necessary to play, and still others wanted to know about the referee's hand signals, what the ball is made of, and what team rankings mean!  

.....I had an amazing professional opportunity this week as I attended and presented at the NYS AHPERD Annual Convention in Verona, NY.  I am fortunate to work in a district where professional development is valued.  I have attended and presented at this convention for many years, and each year I return with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and energy!  This year seemed special as I connected with many National Teachers of the Year, colleagues I have not seen in awhile, and young and future professionals eager to begin their careers.  NYS AHPERD put on a fantastic conference with motivational keynote speakers and I am ready to get back to school and try out some of the lessons that I learned while there!  The conference theme was Pride, Passion, and Partnerships and I could not be more proud to be a Physical Education Teacher in NYS!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education

The Best Parts of My Week: 11/10/14--11/14/14

Hi everyone,

     As we paused this week to honor our Veterans, I had many opportunities to feel grateful for the freedom that our Veterans worked so hard to preserve for us and future generations........

.....This week we finished up our Cooperative activities unit and I asked my third and fourth grade students to assess their behavior and learning during the unit.  Students "walked and talked" with a partner as they self-assessed and I was so impressed with their honest conversations!

.....Fifth grade students finished their work on our traverse rock wall this week.  One partnership was so focused on sharing the climbing and spotting time that they wanted to know how much time they had and asked me to let them know when half of the time had expired.  They certainly wanted to be fair to each other!

.....On our day off to celebrate Veteran's Day I had a wonderful opportunity to take a hike with my husband at a local preserve that has trails down to the Hudson River.  It was a great walk and it felt good to be outside enjoying our freedom!

.....Our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group met for the second time this year and I am so impressed at their responsibility and willingness to help!  We had a great meeting and finished up the time with some activity!  I recently learned about a site called Go Noodle which has some great ideas for classroom activity breaks.  We tried one out as a group and had fun!

.....Two of the areas that our principal has asked special area teachers to focus on this year is our use of questioning strategies and the use of vocabulary words with multiple meanings.  This week my primary students are learning about levels and I asked my students to talk to a friend about what levels are, why they are important, and where they are used.  What a great discussion!  When I asked students to share what they talked about they came up with a variety of terrific responses and many multiple meanings of the word levels!  In addition to talking about the use of levels in space (low, medium, and high), one student talked about levels in terms of learning and another talked about them in the context of a tournament and how winning a game gets you to the next level!

.....I had a great conversation with a student this week about how his strength and endurance has improved during the past year!  He explained that he had been working hard and that he was now stronger and could run longer than in the past.  I am so proud of him!

.....We had a great Healthy Highway assembly this week to introduce our next road - Charity Way.  Students listened to a book by Todd Parr called The Peace Book and then were asked about what Peace is.  Students had some great responses and were then challenged to work hard to ensure that everyone has "enough"......enough good feelings, enough food....enough warmth.......enough time......enough safety....enough love.....When everyone has "enough" there can be Peace........We have many school-wide events to accomplish this task and it is always heartwarming to see students rise to the challenge.

.....At the end of the week I was talking to a class about responsibility for fitness.  I explained that while PE was a great start, students needed to take responsibility for their own fitness by exercising outside of school.  One student shared her view of this in such an amazing way that I wish that I had taped it!  She explained that while she does not belong to a team or organized group, she wants to stay healthy and fit so one of her strategies is exercise before she watches television!  How great is that!  I told her that if more people had that attitude the world would be a healthier place!  

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education

The Best Parts of My Week - 11/3/14-11/7/14

Hi everyone,
     How did we get to November?  November is a very busy month for school and family but it is also a month during which we should pause and give thanks......I am so grateful for the many opportunities in my life.  I teach in a wonderful school full of dedicated professionals and wonderful students and families and I have an amazing family of my own.   I hope that by sharing some of the "Best Parts" my gratitude is felt by all who read this blog.  

.....I have often talked about my "PE Password" program.  This week I overheard one of my fifth graders as he checked out the PE Password.  He said:  "Biceps!  I was right!".   It was great to hear learning going on without me even being present!

.....Students have been learning and practicing Trust Leans in preparation for climbing our Rock Wall.  I always demonstrate with a willing student volunteer.  This week when I asked for volunteers so many hands went up!  When I demonstrated by having the student be the "leaner" while I was the spotter, I could feel the incredible trust that the students had in my ability to keep them safe.  I remember that everyday......

.....On Tuesday I had a terrific opportunity to attend and present at the Southeastern Zone of NYS AHPERD Election Day Conference.  The energy in the sessions and the quality of the conference was amazing!  I always appreciate the opportunity to present and share some of my lessons and I met so many dedicated professionals who want to deliver quality Physical Education in their schools!

.....Wednesday was National Healthy Eating Day and we celebrated with Wellness Wednesday!  In PE students were asked to contribute by writing down their healthy snack.  The message was received!

.....Cardio Cal finished his adventure in a fifth grade class this week and I asked students to share some of his experiences in their class so that a journal entry could be created.  It was delightful as students told me about the Science and Math lessons that Cardio Cal was a part of!

.....Our before school day care program uses the gymnasium in the morning so that students can be active.  I am happy to share the space and so many of the students volunteer to help me!  This week in particular one student was available everyday with a smile and "Do you need any help?"

.....As students finished up our unit on Cooperative Education, they climbed our traverse Rock Wall.  I am always impressed with the care that the spotters give to their climber but this year seemed special as students gave "high fives" to climbers as they finished the wall,  and so many encouraging words were heard while students climbed!

.....Friday morning I was walking down the hallway as students were arriving.  One of my first graders smiled and asked:  "How is your day going so far?"  It was 9:05 am!  I replied that it was going well!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/27/14-10/31/14

Hi everyone,
     Where did October go?  We finished the month with some exciting activities!

.....On Monday I was finally able to go with my fifth grade students and their teachers on our Walkway Over the Hudson field trip.  We had scheduled it twice before and both times the weather did not cooperate!  I guess the third time was the charm because we had an amazing day!  The weather was gorgeous and the whole experience was simply wonderful!  The Walkway Over the Hudson is basically in our backyard and is a renovated train bridge that has become an exercise destination for so many residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond!  This field trip is a truly collaborative project involving the classroom teachers and myself.  Students share pedometers and make predictions about step counts and then use the data in a math activity back at school.  Classroom teachers share the history of the Walkway and students use the experience to write a personal narrative!  We walked over and back and then enjoyed a healthy snack! I love this trip for so many reasons!  When we returned to school I thanked our principal for supporting the trip.   There is so much to do and so little time to do it but this project allows students to learn on many levels while using a community resource that is accessible to all!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back right on time Monday morning!  He spent the weekend bicycling on a rail trail with a family that included a picture in his journal!  This project is so much fun!  

.....Back at school we are continuing our cooperative activities unit and this week fourth grade students participated in a trust activity.  Students chose partners and then guided their blindfolded partners through the gymnasium that was strewn with balls, cones, etc.  Students were very responsible during the activity and it is always interesting to see the different reactions by blindfolded students.  Some are very hesitant while others seem to have no fear at all!  At the end of the activity, I asked students to talk to their partners and finish the statement:  "I felt safe because........"  When I asked students to share, the responses were so genuine and showed the trust that they have in their friends!

.....My primary students learned a new warm-up this week that uses our "Rainbow track", as I call it.  We have floor tape in six colors outlining a track and some activity happens inside the track and some activity happens outside the track.  This week students paired up and while one student was jogging, the other was stretching.  I encourage students to "look both ways" before they "pull out" onto the track.  My kindergarten students took this very seriously!  They were adorable!

.....As I watched my primary students completing a building activity with a partner I was struck by the looks of pure joy on their faces as they played!  Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by the frenzy that occurs sometimes when there is not enough time, but this is when we need to let the children PLAY!  They were learning for sure, but they were also having so much fun!

.....Another cooperative activity with my primary students this week involved a game during which students shared a scooter (a garbage truck) by sitting back to back, and then worked together to clean up the "garbage" on the floor.  One of my kindergarten students was being my helper to demonstrate the game and he came up with a way to back up the truck in a way that I had never thought of!  His thinking was amazing and my teaching partner and I were both struck by his creativity!

.....Fitness Frankie spent some time in the gymnasium this week and I positioned him by the door so that students could see him and say hello and goodbye.  They were so happy to see him and gave him high fives on the way out!

.....At the end of the week I was teaching my upper elementary students how to do trust leans in preparation for use of our rock wall.  I asked for a volunteer that trusted me.  A student volunteered and said:  "I trust all teachers!"  How great is that!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week!"  To find out more about the PE program at North Park, visit my website:  North Park Physical Education