Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/19/15--10/24/15

Hi everyone,
     The theme of this week's "Best Parts" is connections......My school has approximately 500 students.  I have five to seven classes a day and teach between 150-200 students a day.  The school day is so very busy that sometimes it is hard to connect with students on a one-on-one basis.  This week I had some rare opportunities to do just that.....

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back on Monday morning when a student delivered him to my office.  I asked about his weekend adventure and was told that he played basketball and had a healthy dinner.  The student drew a wonderful picture depicting the adventure and was proud of his contribution to Fitness Frankie's journal!

.....Physical Eddie and Muscle Missy started their classroom adventures this week!  I delivered them to the classrooms and can't wait to see what adventures they have!

.....On Tuesday we took our 5th grade classes on a field trip to the Walkway Over the Hudson.  It is a pedestrian walkway that was built from an old train bridge over the Hudson River and is 1.28 miles each way.  This trip is truly a highlight of the year and a collaborative effort.  The classroom teachers and I work together to organize the trip.  Students share pedometers with a partner and each student wears a pedometer one way over the bridge.  Classroom teachers ask students to make predictions of step counts, teach students about the history of the walkway and the area, and students write about the trip when they return to school.  In addition, students are provided with a healthy snack of apples and log step counts on a data recording sheet.  It was a beautiful day and we were afforded the opportunity to view the amazing fall colors of the Hudson Valley.  I love this trip because of the collaboration but also because of the connections and conversations that I get to have while walking across the bridge.  I spend time with each of the classes as they walk and talk and have the privilege of chatting with students about their experiences on the walkway and their lives in general.  This year I had the opportunity to share my fear of heights (the walkway is really high!) with students who were feeling that same fear, to hear students talk about family trips they had taken on the walkway, and to talk about what I remember about the bridge being an actual train bridge when I was their age.  I witnessed the courage of students who had not been on the bridge before and had a genuine fear of heights, and then I witnessed amazing friendship as their friends and classmates helped and encouraged those same students.  We finished the trip and as students were given apples to snack on there were many smiles and some students said:  "Yay apples!"  When we returned to school one of the students was getting off of the bus and stopped to tell me that this field trip was one of the best field trips she had ever taken!

.....Students in grades 3-5 finished a new unit on Flag Football this week.  My student teacher took on the responsibility of creating and teaching this unit and I was impressed this week with the progress students made and the skills they learned!

.....Since my student teacher is doing most of the teaching as she finishes up her placement at my school I had the chance to interact with students while they were practicing different skills.  One of my kindergarten students is a twin and I had so much fun talking with him about being a twin because I am a twin too!  He was really surprised that I had a twin brother and said:  "I have a twin sister!"

.....As I delivered Fitness Frankie to Go at the end of the week the student who was taking him home said that he already knew what he was going to do with him for the weekend!  He had it all planned out and was going to play soccer!

.....I was chatting with a teacher about Fitness Frankie and a student came up to talk about homework.  The teacher has a homework system and students earn stars which can be turned into Go Noodle minutes.  How cool is that!  She told me that they actually do Go Noodle everyday!  What an active classroom!

.....I learned two new ways to do jumping jacks this week!  A first grade student taught me "Crazy Jacks" and a PE teacher friend of mine taught me "Wacky Jacks!"  Who knew there were so many different ways to do jumping jacks!  I never stop learning so I always have fun!

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.  


Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/13/15--10/16/15

     The week began with the Columbus Day holiday and beautiful weather to enjoy the prime colors of fall!  So while it was a short week, the "Best Parts" we're not hard to find!

......My upper elementary students are enjoying a unit on flag football skills that my student teacher is facilitating.  This week they were concentrating on throwing techniques using a peer coaching model.  Since I am not teaching the unit I have the luxury of observing and watching the interactions from a different perspective.  This is the first time my students have been introduced to flag football due to a generous donation of equipment from Fuel Up To Play 60 so they are quite excited! As I was watching students throw and catch, I was impressed by how they were enjoying their responsibilities as coaches and players.  Some were pretending to be professional football players, others were pretending to be announcers that were commenting as if they were watching a pro football game and still others were talking about how they could continue the fun at recess!  It was so great to hear the positive comments by the peer coaches, the excitement, and the plans to continue the fun later on!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back from his weekend adventures safe and sound!  I am always glad when the first round goes well so that the rest of the students benefit from a great first example.  Fitness Frankie went bicycling, traveled to New York City, jumped on a trampoline and came back with terrific additions to his journal!  I can't wait to see what adventures he had this weekend!

......My primary students are continuing some fun stations to reinforce the concepts of high, medium, and low levels.  One of the stations involves using different forces to launch a bean bag turtle in the air using a foot stomper board.  I was watching a kindergarten student  launch the turtle high into the air and commented on his success.  He responded by telling me that his success was due to the fact that he was wearing his lucky sweatshirt!


......Our teacher's union participates in an "Adopt a Highway" program in our town.  During the year we spend time after school cleaning up a stretch of the road that we adopted by picking up the garbage that is on the side of the road.  It is disappointing to see how much trash gets thrown on the ground, but it feels good to participate in community service.  It is a busy stretch of road and very often people that we know pass by during the clean up.  The next day one of my students told me that he saw me picking up the garbage.  I asked him if he waved and he said yes!  I was glad because I think it is important to set the example for the next generation. I turned this into a teachable moment by explaining to the class what I was doing when my student saw me and by asking the rest of students to raise their hand if they ever picked up trash when they found it on the ground.  It was great to see all of the hands go up!

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.  
  

Monday, October 12, 2015

The Best Parts of My Week - 10/5/15--10/9/15

Hi everyone,
     Sometimes, the less complicated things are, the better they are.  With that thought in mind, simple joys were the theme of this week's "Best Parts"!  

.....There is a TV commercial that basically says that sometimes life is better with surprises.  I thought of that commercial this week while my primary students were learning about levels.  I have some animal faces that are made out of paper plates.  When the plates are face down, they all look alike but when they are turned face up, they reveal a number of different animals.  Animals included were monkeys, gorillas, snakes, butterflies, ladybugs, ducks, penguins, tigers, frogs, dogs, panda bears, and more!  Students participated in this activity by moving throughout the gym using different locomotor movements and then when the music stopped, they stopped at the closest plate, flipped it over, and then moved around the plate while pretending to be that animal.  Since different animals move at different levels, students were practicing moving at low, medium, and high levels based on the kind of animal they found.  I could not help but smile as I watched the surprise on the students' faces as I watched them flip over the plate and find a new animal each time!  

.....Our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors met this week for the first time and what a great start it was!  Students were so excited to be a part of the group and while the first meeting involved some set up and discussion, the energy in the air was amazing!  Students have some great ideas for projects for this year and we ended the meeting with some exercise using Go Noodle!  I can't wait to see what this group accomplishes this year!

.....A colleague of mine and I had a terrific opportunity to be a part of the #ESPEchat #PhysEd Summit on Twitter on Tuesday night.  We presented a session called "PE Without Borders:  Creating a Physically Literate Lifestyle".  We were thrilled to share our ideas with dedicated PE professionals and we learned from other session presentations as well.  Sharing and learning using these opportunities elevates and strengthens our profession.  I have met so many incredible professionals through these kinds of programs and I have learned so much that has helped me to be a better teacher and deliver a quality program to my students.  I am grateful......

.....After 32 years of tying sneakers I have gotten pretty good at it.  This week I helped a student with a knot in his shoe and then I tied it quickly so that he could get involved in the activity.  He was amazed!  He said:  "I need to wash my eyes!"

.....After telling a kindergarten student that she had indeed answered a question correctly she replied:
"You know I'm a smarty pants, right?"  I thought...I do now!!!

.....Fall Picture day was at the end of the week this week and honestly it can be a bit of a distraction and challenge, especially for students who attend PE that day.  While I completely understand and definitely go with the flow on that day, students are dressed to look their best for pictures and I want to make sure that they arrive to the camera looking the same way that they arrived to school.  Despite the challenge I was reminded of the simple joys of life when more than one student arrived that morning and greeted me with:  "Happy Picture Day!"

.....On Friday I was able to deliver Fitness Frankie to Go to the first set of second graders who have the opportunity to take him home for the weekend and have a healthy adventure.  Students were so excited that it was their turn!  I am excited to hear about his adventures!  I will be sure to share them next week!   



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.  
  

Sunday, October 4, 2015

The Best Parts of My Week - 9/28/15--10/2/15

Hi everyone,
     I am not quite sure how I packed everything in this week!  Most weeks are busy but this week was unbelievable!  However, busier weeks mean more chances for "Best Parts!"

.....A colleague and I facilitate a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador group.  Last year was the first year that we began the program and we had so much fun!  We invited last year's ambassadors as well as some new students to join the group this week.  We had letters and permission slips ready to go and on Monday I spoke directly with students to explain the invitation.  Students were so excited by the invitations!  One student smiled from ear to ear and said:  "YES!"  During our Meet the Staff Nights this week I also spoke with many parents of invited students and it was wonderful to hear how excited the students were as well as how supportive and excited the families are!  Our first meeting is next week so stay tuned!

.....Monday night and Tuesday night were Meet the Staff nights.  While it's true that these events lengthen an already busy day, I really never mind being a part of them.  It is a chance to interact with parents and advocate for my program.  Some years I have to stand in the hallway to speak to families as they go by, and other years there are families that make a special point of visiting the gymnasium to find out about the program.  This year was a mix of both.  I was able to meet families of new students, speak to families in the hallway about PE work displayed on a bulletin board, and even chat with parents who at one time were my students!  Honestly, reminiscing with a parent about their time at North Park when they were my student never gets old!  It is truly a privilege to have worked in a school long enough to have that happen!  I was also proud to show off the gymnasium's new look as it was painted this summer and more renovation work is scheduled this fall!

.....The "Best Parts" continued outside of my school day this week as I had the terrific opportunity to present a SHAPE America Webinar called PE Plus:  Ways to Make a Difference Beyond the Gymnasium.  My friend and fellow PE teacher Lynn and I worked for months to put together this presentation and we were beyond nervous!  The hard work was well worth it as we had a great time presenting and in the end it all worked out great!  We had some wonderful help from our SHAPE moderators and we are so grateful for the opportunity!

.....In every school there are students with special needs and my school is no different.  The fact is, all students are different no matter what their strengths and challenges are and finding out how to meet the needs of all students can be challenging.  This week I had some amazing conversations with students and as a result, students were able to communicate with me about what they need to be successful.  They had the courage to speak up and I had the opportunity to listen.......

.....This week signaled the end of the month which means that Fitness Calendars are due.  I recognize students as Fitness Fanatics on a bulletin board, in my newsletter, and on my website if they turn in a completed Fitness Calendar.  There were so many that I had a hard time keeping up with the list!

.....On Friday this week we had our first school-wide Fitness Friday.  It was so much fun!  I played an activity song using our PA system and students move using a "follow the leader" approach.  While the song is playing I try to get to as many classrooms as possible and move along with them.  It was so great to see students and adults moving and smiling together!  One student asked me if we could do this every Friday!  This weekend I received an email from a classroom teacher who thanked me for the activity and told me how much everyone enjoyed it (including the adults!).  I wanted to say THANK YOU!  

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.