The Best Parts of My Week - 6/22/15--6/25/15

Hi everyone,
      I can't believe that school has ended for the 2014-2015 school year!  I usually write this blog on Sunday night, but this week I needed a bit more time to process all that happened during the last week of school.  It was a shorter week, and students were in attendance for only half days during the last three days of school, but it was incredibly packed with "Best Parts"!

.....I began the week meeting after school with a former student teacher of mine.  He has accepted a full time job and asked me for some advice to start the new year off on the right foot.  I was so honored that he would ask and I am so happy to share some tips with him!  I remember being so excited about my first job!  It was a six month leave replacement opportunity and I decided to take the job so that I could get some experience.  That was in 1984 and I never left!  It was a great start and turned into my current job!

.....5th grade students were practicing early in the week for their moving up ceremony.  This is always an emotional time as students prepare to leave elementary school and move on to middle school.  I have had the privilege of knowing most of these students for a very long time and they have grown so much!  As a result of a scheduling issue, I needed to take my fifth grade class outside during PE class to practice their Moving Up Day song.  It was amazing and brought tears to my eyes......and this was just practice!

.....At the end of the year, sometimes students bring thank you gifts to many of their teachers.  While it is never about the gift, it is always about the thank you and this week one of my students brought in a gift that was so thoughtful and heartfelt it made my heart smile!

.....During the last PE class of the year for one particular class a student came in and whispered:  "Don't tell anyone else but PE is my favorite special!"  He did not want to hurt the feelings of the other special area teachers....how thoughtful and caring.....

.....5th grade students are allowed a half hour during one of the last days of the year to go to other teachers and have their yearbook signed.  It is always an honor to be asked and this year I had such great fun signing their yearbooks.  One student said:  "I wish you could be my teacher next year..."  I told him that there were some great PE teachers in the middle school and that he will enjoy learning from them.  This fifth grade has been such a special class.  I know they are ready to go to middle school but I will miss them!

.....Our 5th grade Moving Up ceremony was held on Wednesday and it was such a great event.  There were so many families there to celebrate the accomplishments of the students.  Awards are given in a variety of categories including PE.  When I spoke to give out the PE awards I told a story about one of the last PE classes.  Students were given the opportunity to create their own game with a variety of equipment choices.  Students know that my rule when choosing groups is that if someone says:  "Can I play?"  the answer is ALWAYS "YES".  As I observed the fifth grade students playing I noticed that everyone was included, a variety of games including soccer, Frisbee, four square, basketball, and kickball were being played, all groups included boys and girls, there was not one argument during the entire class, and when they needed help they came to ask.  It was amazing to watch.  As I shared this story I got a little choked up because I knew that they were ready to move on and I was (and am) so proud of their growth!

.....During the last day of school our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors conducted the last projects of the year.  The first project was "Support your sport" Day by wearing clothes that showed the sport you enjoy and the other was creating a "Canstruction Wheel".  I always say:  "Another day, another event!" and it was so true this week!  I was second guessing the decision to do this project on the last day but it was amazing!  It was so great to see students and adults dressed supporting a variety of teams and sports and the "Canstruction Wheel" project was so successful!  Students were asked to bring in one or two cans of food which would then be donated to our local food pantry.  We decided to create a wheel where each spoke would be built by a grade level and the outer wheel would be filled in by our fifth grade students.  Each grade level named their road based on one of the roads we traveled down this year based on our Healthy Highway program.   This project came about based on a book by Carmen Morais that students read.  Students came to our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors and asked them to take on the project.  How great is that?  Students and families were very generous and we collected 12 boxes of food!  It was truly a great way to end the year.....

North Park "Canstruction Wheel" Project

.....The last day of school is always filled with excitement.   Students are ready for summer vacation, adults are ready to finish up one year and enjoy summer vacation too.  There are always happy tears, sad tears, and sometimes a little anxiety and uncertainty over what the next year will bring.  This year for me was full of opportunity (seven different conferences, field trips, new ideas for Field Days), gratitude (great students and great equipment to use, grants received, proposals for next year accepted, supportive families, improvements to my gymnasium slated for this summer), perseverance (broken foot - ugh!), and fun (Fitness Frankie, Physical Eddie, Cardio Cal and more)!  I hope you have enjoyed my blog this year.  This summer I will be doing some traveling as Fitness Frankie is ready for his summer adventure, and I am also very excited to be presenting at the National PE Institute!  It has been wonderful to share "The Best Parts of My Week!" with you.  Thanks for reading this year and I will be writing again in September.  Have a great summer!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/15/15--6/19/15

Hi everyone,
     This week was filled with Field Days, special end of the year events, memories from the past, and many "Best Parts!"

.....On Monday Field Day was scheduled for our third and fourth grade students.  The weather did not cooperate and so we rescheduled for Wednesday.  Field Day is such an important event in our students' lives and I am so glad that they love it!  I was impressed though that students completely understood the decision to postpone and trusted us to reschedule and follow through!

.....I had set up an indoor obstacle course for the third and fourth grade Field Day and left it set up so that it would be ready for later in the week.  Several of my classes were able to use it as part of their PE class and they were very excited.  We all agreed that sometimes good things come out of less than perfect circumstances.  One fifth grade class was one of those classes that were excited about using the course and they were even more excited when their teacher decided to stay and participate with the class.  I was even more excited and proud when the entire class cheered for each and every classmate as they went through the course.  I love it when those moments happen spontaneously!

.....Early in the week I was showing a class the first North Park Field Day shirt from 1995.  One student remarked that her dad was at our school back then.  I asked who her dad was and she was surprised that I remembered him!

.....On Tuesday Field Day was scheduled for our kindergarten, first, and second grade students and the weather was questionable at best.  After discussing the decision with my principal, we decided to go for it based on the best information we had (I love technology!).  It turned out to be a great morning!  The weather held off and the temperature was comfortable!  Parents were happy that we were able to hold the event because many parents take the day off to volunteer for the day and rescheduling makes it difficult for parents to attend.  The students were amazing and the level of excitement was unprecedented!  I am always ready for students to be excited since for many this is their first Field Day but for some reason this year was different.  We had fantastic volunteers and there were too many smiles to count.  I hope these memories will last a lifetime......

.....A kindergarten student picked up some garbage that was on the grass as we were walking back in to the school after PE class.  He told me how important it was for us to take care of our world and pick up garbage when we see it.  He is so right!

.....I had great fun playing catch with a kindergarten student this week.  Students were using different pieces of equipment to practicing throwing and catching skills and one student picked me as his partner!

.....Third and fourth grade Field Day finally happened on Wednesday morning and it was a gorgeous day and well worth the wait!  Some years there are special Field Day shirts but this year students were encouraged to wear a Field Day shirt from past years, a North Park shirt, or any shirt to celebrate Field Day.  Many students made their own shirts!  One shirt was of particular importance as I noticed a "Rest in Peace" message for one of our teaching assistants who passed away this year.....While it was a somber message during a joyful day, she definitely would have wanted to be remembered during such a joyful event.......

.....As a North Park community, we are so fortunate to have wonderful volunteers to help with our school events.  I am so grateful for all of our volunteers for their help to make our annual Field Days a success.  This group of volunteers includes parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, family members, school staff, administration, and my husband who helps me to set up each day.  I hope that they know how much I appreciate all that they do!  Students showed their appreciation of my work with great behavior and Field Day thank you cards.....

.....I was treated to several more writing pieces this week from third grade students who chose me as their "noteworthy" person.  My heart and my face is smiling from ear to ear!

.....I had a rare opportunity this week to talk with a former student about a story that I remembered from when she was a student in my school.  She is now a teacher herself and we were at a common event one evening this week.  I had not seen her in quite some time and I remembered that I was a very young teacher when she was one of my students.  On one day I had been having a particularly difficult time with behavior from some students in her class and she noticed.  Later in the day, she wrote me a wonderful note to say that she thought I was the best teacher ever and that I should not worry too much about the students who were not behaving.  She decorated the note and put it in my mailbox.  Had I been writing this blog back then it would have definitely made it on the list of "Best Parts of My Week!"  This note made my day and also made me realize that I was making a difference, even if it was difficult to see that at the time.  I kept the note for years (I am quite sure I still have it somewhere and am on a mission to find it!) and whenever I was having a challenging day I would pull the note out to remind me that at challenging times I can still make a difference.  While this student (now adult/teacher) remembered me as her PE teacher she did not remember writing the note.  She told me that she has had students do that for her and had always hoped that she had been that same kind of caring student.  When I confirmed that she indeed was that kind of student, she gave me a big hug and we both smiled at the memory and the "full circle" experience of life!

.....Fourth grade students set a PE Goal at the beginning of the year.  This week I pulled the goal sheets out to give back to students so that they could evaluate their success.  It was so great reading through the goals again.  As I read them I could see such growth and success.  I hope they feel the same way!  

.....At the end of the week students in grades three, four, and five, were allowed to choose an activity based on available equipment and play together with a small group.  I was so impressed with the way that students chose groups and played together.  One class in particular made me realize how much students have learned in this and prior years.  A fifth grade class was playing outside and as I watched the groups play I noticed that all of the groups included boys and girls, the variety of the games included soccer, four square, basketball, kickball, jump rope, and Frisbee, and there was not an argument to be heard the entire time!  I was struck by their maturity and while I will miss them, I realized that they are ready for middle school!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/8/15--6/12/15

Hi everyone,
     If you are an educator, you know that the end of the school year is crazy, exciting, busy, frenzied, stressful, happy, and amazing!  It's that time of year in my district but despite the frenzy (or maybe because of it) it was an incredible week!

.....Our school schedule runs on a cycle of A-F, not Monday to Friday.  I spoke in my last post about trying a new warm-up which is an active version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.  I continued with that warm-up this week because Monday was a "B" day, Tuesday was a "C" day, and so on.  I was so happy when I introduced the warm-up to one class and a student was excited to tell me that she knew how to play because her brother had learned it last week and taught her!

.....Third grade students in one class were practicing and improving their writing skills by writing about "noteworthy" people in our school.  They write about the things that a particular person does to make the school a better place.  They do some research, write a draft, edit, and then "publish" their work.  I am honored and humbled to have been chosen by two of the third grade students as their "noteworthy" person!  I was presented with their writing pieces this week and I had tears in my eyes as I read them.....All I want to do is teach and make a difference in the lives of my students and these writing pieces showed me that I am accomplishing my goal....

.....Tuesday was 5th Grade Track and Field Day.  This event is something that a colleague of mine and I have dreamed about for years and it finally came about as a result of an amazing collaboration and a tremendous amount of hard work!  I coached Track and Field at our high school a long time ago when we had only a dirt track and last year our community supported the installation of an amazing stadium with an eight lane all weather Track and Field facility.  Each time I set foot in this stadium I am in awe.  The 5th Grade Track and Field Day was a way to showcase and use this beautiful facility, introduce 5th graders to the sport of Track and Field, provide a way for high school students to mentor our elementary students, and work together with our high school PE staff to organize and promote the event.  Scheduling this event was nothing short of a miracle when all of the factors were considered!  If the event did not take place on Tuesday we were not going to be able to reschedule so I was keeping an eye on the weather forecast for days!  While it looked as if the weather was not going to cooperate (if you visit the link above and see the pictures you will understand what I mean....) we were able to hold the event with only a sprinkle or two during the entire three hours.  The high school students (some of them my former students) were so caring and were such great mentors and role models for our students.  Our students were so well behaved and excited about the opportunity!  Parents were generous with their time and chaperoned the event.  We had a visit from the high school principal, our own principal, our Director of Physical Education and the current Track and Field Coach, all of whom thought that the event was an amazing opportunity for all involved!  I was more than happy at the outcome and as I thought about the day and shared the details with my husband, the word that I kept coming back to was "Special".  It was truly a special day and it far exceeded my expectations!  Students were still talking about it as the week went forward and some students told me about their plans to join the middle school Track and Field team!  When I asked students about which event was their favorite, one student replied:  "All of them!"  One student was even interested in getting his own discus so that he could practice ahead of time!  The next day a 5th grade student came excitedly down the hall to give me a "thank you for field day" poster that she made.  Yes......a special day indeed!

.....As the week continued students were inside and outside working on some throwing and catching skills with a variety of different equipment.  I was encouraging students to explore when we were outside using scoops for catching and yarn balls for throwing.  A first grade student was so creative and made up some great moves for tossing and catching!  Another first grade group was working together to create a game and they called it "Switcheroo".  They had two yarn balls and two scoops and they tossed the balls in the air at the same time with the scoops and said "Switcheroo"!  They were having a great time!

.....At the end of the week a first grade group did their warm-up inside and then went outside to work on throwing and catching.  During this warm-up two boys had some difficulty getting along and agreeing on fair play.  After the warm-up I asked students to find a "good learning partner" which is someone who helps you learn and helps you to do the right thing.  I noticed that these two boys had chosen to be together.  I went over to them and asked them if they were truly going to be good learning partners because of their earlier disagreements.  One of the boys replied:  "Yes - we had a discussion!"  They went outside together and were actually good learning partners.  I guess their discussion worked!  

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

The Best Parts of My Week - 6/1/15--6/5/15

Hi everyone,

     The first week of June arrived this week and I can't believe how fast this year has gone by!  There are so many year-end events coming up such as Field Days, Moving Up Days, field trips and more!  In the meantime, there are many “Best Parts” to talk about from this past week!

.....This week we finished up our Gymnastics unit and students were enjoying using the high balance beam.  While some students can't wait to get on the beam, others are hesitant but willing to try.  Students participate without sneakers for this unit, and because I was spotting students I happened to notice the variety of socks that students were wearing.  I smiled when I saw "minions", spider man, batman, rainbow, mis-matched, and many colorful socks!  When I was a child, I only remember having white or blue socks.  When I commented on the terrific socks, students were happy that I noticed and it also made of few reluctant beam walkers a little more relaxed!

.....Speaking of reluctant beam walkers, I was so proud of one of my students in particular this week.  This is a student who was reluctant to walk on the low beam when she was younger and this week she walked on the high beam all by herself!  We exchanged high fives and smiles when she finished!

.....I am in the midst of planning our annual Field Days and this week I met with a colleague who is a PE teacher at our high school.  We are planning a track and field day for our fifth grade students at our new all weather track facility.  It is very exciting since this is the first time we have planned an event like this and as we were discussing the details of the event I was struck by the fact that professional collaboration is an amazing opportunity and only makes us and our programs stronger.  This event is taking place next week and we are all excited! 

.....Operation Healthy North Park concluded on May 31st, so at the beginning of this week I was counting the final total.  I am pleased to announce that we broke last year's record!  This year we collected 5,242 "Coop Cars"!  While it may be hard to believe, I do count every car.  The Operation Healthy North Park bulletin board is in the hallway and as I was finishing the task, a student walked by and said:  "that must take forever!"  I was actually pleased that he recognized the work that it takes to complete this project. This new record will be hard to beat!  One fifth grade class collected 795 "Coop Cars" all by themselves!  I sent thank you emails to those outside our school who participated and I received some great replies.  A colleague in another school facilitated participation by our varsity girls' crew team.  She replied that many of the girls are North Park alums and they were very excited to join in the project that they remembered doing when they were students here! 

.....As a kindergarten class arrived this week one of my students looked me in the eye and said:  "Nice to see you Mrs. Robelee".  Yes, this is a kindergarten student who has some great social skills already!

.....I am always interested in learning new activities and this week I had a chance to try out a new activity that I learned from a colleague.  While this idea may not be new, it was something I had not tried yet and a conversation with this colleague spurred me on to try it.  I always tell my students that if they have a disagreement, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is always a great way to solve the problem so my students are very familiar with the traditional game.  In it's original form, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is not physically active but I learned a new way to use the game, while increasing the activity levels for all students.  Instead of just hands being used to make the symbols for the game, the new way involves students using their entire body to make the symbols for the game.  Students make "Paper" by holding arms and legs out wide, "Scissors" by putting one foot in front of the other with legs straight, and "Rock" by crouching slightly with hands together.  To begin the game, students jump with feet together four times and then create the symbol with their body.  Students who win the round advance to the next level (a designated line in the gymnasium) and those who don't go back to the beginning to play another student.  My students had so much fun with this game but more importantly, they were breathing hard and tired at the end!  I asked them which version of the game was more active and they looked at me like I was asking them a trick question!  

......At the end of the week our Gymnastics unit ended.  While students are sad to see the unit end, it is time to move on to other activities.  I asked some students what they thought they had learned and what activities they thought they were better at now than at the beginning of the unit.  I received some very thoughtful responses.  Students said that they were better at strength, pull-ups, "possum hangs", landings, vaults, and balance.  When I asked them how learning Gymnastics could help them in other sports and activities they had some great responses.  Among the responses were that getting better at balance helped them in dance, and that improving their strength could help them shoot baskets better.  I love it when students make connections!

 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.