Hi everyone,
It was a great week but someone starting
counting down the number of days left in the school year. We are in session until the end of June
but we have a number of days off due to some days off for unused snow days. The number of days left was 27 and I
thought – “oh no….that is not nearly enough time to get done what needs to be
done with all of the year end events coming up!” It is the time of year that seems to fly by when I want it
to slow down!
…...I was struck by the
creativity that my students have when I saw a first grade student use a noodle
sideways to accomplish a goal in a way that I had not thought of!
…..As I was encouraging
students to exercise so that they could turn in “Coop Cars” for Operation
Healthy North Park I had many students eager to share their weekend activities
with me!
…..A first grade student was
sharing a story with me about his younger brother and an adventure they were
having together. A vacuum cleaner
that was in the gym reminded him of a snapdragon and the adventure they had had
recently at home. He said: “he’s my sidekick!” How great is that?
…..During an activity using
a springboard during our gymnastics unit one second grader complemented a
friend after he had taken his turn.
He said: “You’re a
natural!” This pleased the friend
of course and he began to say to others:
“hey! I’m a natural!”
…..Our Fuel Up to Play 60
Student Ambassadors organized a Veggie Taste Test Day this week and during our
meeting this week we organized all of the veggies that students would be
trying. Students had decided on
kohlrabi, red cabbage, radishes, and cauliflower. My colleague and I bought and cut up the vegetables and the
students counted out servings and organized surveys, napkins, and bags of
vegetables. They were very excited
about the event and since we had some time and some leftover veggies we asked
students to try them out prior to the actual taste test. The reactions were priceless! Some students said: “I loved everything!” and others were
surprised by the taste of some of the vegetables. They were very thoughtful in their taste testing! I told them to keep their results a secret
until their peers had a chance to try them too!
…..During the Veggie Taste Test Day I happened to be visiting a class when the event was happening. The students were so excited and could
not wait to try the new veggies.
It was very encouraging to know that students were indeed open to trying
new things. This particular class
has a guinea pig named Truffle and he was invited to the taste test too! Students had surveys to fill out based
on their like or dislike of a particular vegetable. One student created a survey just for Truffle by drawing a
table on her own survey. She took
care of the results. Truffle liked
the red cabbage, did not like the kohlrabi or the radishes, and was not sure
about the cauliflower at first but warmed up to it later! It was so cute to watch Truffle try
everything and to watch his friend write down the results!
…..We had a Healthy Highway
assembly this week and we are now traveling down Leadership Lane. It was a special assembly as we
imparted the message of leadership and the concept of being the ‘first follower”
of good leadership. We
reintroduced our lions – Courageous Cassie and Courageous Carlos. Students are earning Courage Cards by showing
the courage to do the right thing and Cassie and Carlos are now sitting on the
main office counter to see who is earning the Courage Cards!
…..My week was extended a
bit as I attended the 51st Annual SEZ of NYS AHPERD
Elementary/Middle School Awards Ceremony.
As the president of the SEZ it was my job to make some opening and
closing remarks, and to congratulate each honoree as they received their award
for outstanding participation and leadership in Physical Education class. What an honor it was to meet over 400
honorees and their families and congratulate them on their achievement! It was a special privilege this year as
my first year as president since I was able to congratulate several of my own
students who were honored as well!
It is a truly amazing group of young people who have much to offer and
are terrific role models for their peers.
It was a proud moment for their families for sure and I could not help
but smile back as I greeted each one and saw the pride and happiness on the
students faces as well!
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.
Follow me on Twitter! @mrobPE
