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.....
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| 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.
