The Best Parts of My Week - 5/22/17--5/26/17

Hi everyone,

     There were a number of milestone “lasts” this week and some special events and as a result, there were some VERY emotional moments as I move toward retirement…….

…..Early in the week I had a few very small classes because most of the 4th and 5th graders were at a rehearsal at our high school for the evening concert.  There were only about 10 students in each class and they were both very calm groups.  At the end of the class one of the students said they enjoyed it and there was “no chaos…”  I had to think for a minute about what he meant (I don’t normally do chaos) and realized that his particular class is usually much noisier, and sometimes needs quite a bit of redirection.   I am glad that he enjoyed it.  I did too!

…..One of my fifth grade students was working on straddle jumps in our gymnastics unit this week and she is quite good at them.   She came over to me to ask:  “Do you know why I am so good at this?”   I responded “Why?”  She told me that there is a game from her home country - the Philippines - that requires a very high straddle jump over an object of some sort.  She had practiced and got better at it!  

…..During gymnastics students remove their sneakers so that they can participate on our beautiful carpeted mat floor.  Some students struggle with tying their shoes at the end of class.  One student was particularly struggling with this recently and he was becoming very frustrated.   I (along with some other adults) were working hard to help him learn.  One day this week he showed me that he had been practicing and just about had the skill!  He was very proud and so was I!  

…..One of the gymnastics stations recently involved a series of equipment and skills that students were putting together in a routine from start to finish.  In a second grade class I compared the station to a sentence noting that there was a beginning, middle, and end.  I called it a gymnastics sentence and that seemed to help students to understand the task.  During this week I added some different “gymnastic sentence” stations and was giving directions to this same second grade.  I cautioned them to move carefully around the stations to get to the next one rather than going through the middle.  One student raised her hand and said:   ”You’ll break up the gymnastics sentence!”

…..Our PTA is amazing and for the past several years has provided Field Day shirts for all of our students to wear on Field Day.  While we are not quite ready for Field Day yet, we are celebrating our 50th year and this week a photo shoot was planned to have the entire school make the letters NPE 50 while wearing the Field Day shirt.  On Tuesday afternoon I was called down to the office and when I got there I was presented with the shirt that we were supposed to wear the following morning.  I had seen the design but what I had not seen (it was a surprise!) was that every single shirt has “We Love You Mrs. Robelee” on a banner that our mascot lion is carrying!  I was an absolute mess of happy tears!  The next day when I saw everyone wearing the shirt it was completely unbelievable!  Students were fantastic as we asked for patience to get everyone in the correct spot.  Click here to see the NPE 50 picture!  

…..We held our last Student Ambassador meeting this week and my colleague and I brought juice and granola bars for the students and then we had some play time in the gym.  It was so much fun as we said thank you for a great year!

…..On Wednesday after school I had the chance to spend some time bike riding with one of my student ambassadors.  She recently learned to ride her bike and it had been quite a challenge.  She told me that the Student Ambassador group gave her the courage to accomplish her goal of learning to ride her bike!  Her mom brought her bike to school and then we spent time riding around together as she chatted about everything!  It was delightful and something very special……...

…..I am constantly encouraging my students to work on a goal during PE.  Using “Freedom with Responsibility” helps because students are free to choose activities based on the goal that they want to work on.  One of my students this week worked so very hard to do a front circle on both the low bar and the high bar.  He kept trying and he did it!  Later on, an adult working in that classroom told me that she could see an increase in his confidence level as he tried some other work in the classroom that was usually challenging for him.  It made my heart smile to know that something he accomplished in PE helped him in the classroom!

…..One of my fourth grade students arrived to PE with this message:  “My shoe fell off on my way here…..I guess my feet knew it was time for gymnastics!”  How can you not laugh at that????  :-)  

.....Physical Eddie has been with my bicycle in the main lobby for awhile. He was originally there because I was advertising the Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic, but I have been so busy I have not had time to take him back to my office. This week on of my very creative colleagues decided to write a note from him to me and bring him to the mailboxes. He said it was time to go back to my office and that it was so hard for him to ride a bike anyway because he is only 10 inches tall! I laughed out loud!

…..One of my former students is working on his Eagle Scout project and he is building a storage shed which will store Fitness Bags for students to borrow.  I am so proud of his work and grateful that he chose North Park for his project.  He has been working on this project for about two years and this week he was able to put the finishing touches on the storage shed and put together the bags.  He stopped by one afternoon while I had a class and I took the opportunity to introduce him to the students.  After he left, one of my students said that he knew him from Boy Scouts and said:  “He is VERY nice!”  He is, of course!  What I did not know was that later in the week, he would surprise me at our last Healthy Highway assembly with a plaque dedicating the project to me and the students of North Park.  Again, I was a mess of happy tears!  

…..Our last Healthy Highway assembly of the year (and my career) was on Thursday afternoon.  It was going well as we introduced our last road for the year:  Justice Junction.

 Near the end of the assembly I was called up by our principal and then our Student Ambassador group came up and read a letter thanking me for starting the Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador program at North Park.  Each of the fifth graders read something about why they liked the program and what they learned and then presented me with flowers as well as a card and messages from each of our 31 ambassadors.  I tried to compose myself but it was no use….again, I was a mess happy tears!  The assembly was not over yet, however, as one of my colleagues presented me with my new bear…..”Retirement Roxie!”  I was so emotional at this point that I could not speak.  I tried my best to say thank you as I noticed others (including students) wiping away tears.  I never in my wildest dreams thought that others would think of me with such love and the feeling is mutual…..

…..Thursday evening I was humbled and honored to receive the Taconic Region PTA Teacher of the Year Award.  It was a wonderful evening and I am so grateful to my PTA for their generosity and support all of these years.  I said that night (and I truly believe) that anything that I have been able to accomplish in my career has been as a result of a team effort and the support of administrators, colleagues, parents, students, and our community….I am grateful......

…..Friday was actually a snow day!  Well, a “give-back” snow day anyway.  We had one unused snow day and so we were given Friday off.  It was a terrific way to begin the Memorial Day Weekend!  Thank you to all who have served…….

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 - 5/12/17--5/19/17

Hi everyone,

This week was one the last full weeks of school as we move toward summer.  There are only five weeks left and three of those are shortened due to holidays and the beginning of summer vacation.  Recently, I have been asked so many times if I am counting down the days to my retirement.  My answer is still that I am just working hard to enjoy the days that are left but I can’t help but be acutely aware that the number is getting lower and lower……

…..I had a brief meeting of a student group that I work with and after most of the students went back to class I noticed that one student remained behind.  It was obvious that she wanted to talk to me about something.  She stayed behind to tell me of her recent bike riding success.  She had been working so hard to accomplish this goal and wanted to share her success with me.  I am so proud of her and I had goosebumps as she told me her story……

…..I had taken the previous Friday off as a personal day and I was so happy to see that there were so many Coop Cars waiting for me on Monday morning!  It has been a bit of a slow start to this year’s Operation Healthy North Park project.  During this project, students and families are encouraged to celebrate National Physical Fitness Month by being more active and submitting Coop Cars to get credit for this physical activity.   Since Monday marked the halfway point of the project, after school I counted the cars that we have collected so far.  I was pleased to announce on Tuesday that we had collected 1,570 cars, but I noticed that some classes were in need of some motivation to submit their Coop Cars.  I mentioned that a friendly competition was happening between “book buddy” classes and that did the trick!  During the rest of the week more and more Coop Cars came streaming in!

…..As we continue to work on our gymnastics unit I added the high balance beam to the available stations for students to use.  I allow 5th grade students to spot each other as I supervise.  It was so wonderful to see them take on this responsibility with maturity as they spotted each other.  Some needed more help than others and I was proud of the care that they showed their partners.   While 5th grade students are allowed to spot each other, other grade levels have varying degrees of independence as they use the beam.  Kindergarten students must hold my hand, first graders have a choice, most second graders just need help getting on the beam, and third and fourth graders are allowed to choose what level of help they require.  I was so happy to be able to help those students who were especially reluctant or a bit scared of the height of the beam.  I totally understand this as I am not a fan of heights myself.  There were students who gripped my hand so hard that it almost hurt and other who walked across as if there was nothing to it!  One day I added Basketball Betty to the beam since she is not in a classroom at the moment.  One of my third grade students asked if she was there to give everybody courage to use the beam!  I loved that idea and decided to go with it!  I mentioned it to other classes and they all thought it was a great idea too!  One second grader muttered to himself the entire time he was walking on the beam.  He kept saying:  “Courage, courage, courage, courage…..” and when he successfully landed on the mat he turned to me and said:  “Thanks for the courage!”  So this idea kept growing during the week and while one of the students thought that Basketball Betty needed a bit more fashion, another student thought that we should add one of our lions to the mix to add more courage! Our school motto is to “Have the Courage to do the right thing”, and so we have Courageous Carlos and Courageous Cassie in our main office as part of our stuffed animal pals.  Again, I thought, what a great idea, so the next day Carlos joined us and Cassie will make an appearance next week.  It’s fantastic when students embrace the message and give me ideas to try!

..... While I was chatting with a student on the beam she said: "I'm going to exercise tonight! I met a friend and I like to ride my bike!"

…..I received my first retirement card from former students and their family.  It was so nice that they thought of me!

…..I have been using our iPad minis and an app (Decide Now) that has a spinning wheel of exercises for a warm-up with students in grades 3-5.  I decided to use it with my 2nd graders since they are close to becoming third graders.   They loved it and said   “that was fun!”

…..One morning this week a student came to me to ask me to sign his application for his promotion to the next belt in karate.  He had to have teachers attest to his strength of character.  I was happy to do it as he definitely makes good choices and displays good character.  I was pleased that he asked me!

…..Our school budget vote was held this week and our teacher’s union holds a book sale and ice cream social to support the budget vote.  I was a volunteer at the book sale and saw many former students!  It was so nice to see how they are growing up!

…..I submitted our FUTP60 Success Story this week and now we have achieved Touchdown Status!

…..A class was lined up to leave the library and two of the students had checked out books on Gymnastics.  They were happy to share this with me and I told them that I have the same book.  They loved the connection and so did I!

…..As part of a student engagement survey students are asked to answer a list of questions each year.. One of the adults who help out with one of the classes told me that one of the third grade students answered that PE was the best part of third grade!

…..At the end of PE class this week I asked students to pair up and share a card that had various stretches on it.. Students were supposed to pick a stretch and do it together.  One of my second-grade pairs decided to do it just like I do when I am leading the stretches.  I call it “share count stretching” which means that I count one and the students say two and so on.. I find that this helps the students focus on the stretch as well as slow it down.  I was pleased to see that they were share count stretching with each other!

…..On Friday morning we were getting ready for a Spring Concert performed by our music students and I was in the cafeteria helping to get the microphone ready.. Students were lined up getting breakfast and noticed the set-up of the cafeteria.. One of the first graders asked:  ”Are we having a Healthy Highway assembly today?  When I told her that we were having the Spring Concert instead she seemed happy but also said:  “I like Healthy Highway assemblies!  Later in the morning we listened to the concert and the students played and sang such beautiful music that I had tears in my eyes realizing that it was my last one…..

…..I have asking students to set individual goals during our gymnastics unit and then work with a partner to help each other reach their goals. Students use “Freedom with responsibility” when working at different stations and can pick and choose where they go as long as they are working on a goal.  On Friday afternoon one of my second grade students was so intent on working on a particular goal in gymnastics that she spent the entire class on the balance beam. Her goal was to get on by herself and then do a one foot balance while on the beam by herself.  Another student worked hard to walk on the beam but admitted that she was still working on the goal.  As she left she said:  “My goal is to do the balance beam without holding your hand…”  I love the focus!

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 - 5/8/17--5/12/17

Hi everyone,

    I feel like the time is spinning faster and faster!  There is a song out by Brad Paisley (yes, I am a country music fan!) called Last Time for everything.  It sums up how I am feeling as I catapult into retirement!  That said, there continues to be so many best parts!

…..A kindergarten student delivered a picture of herself with me and her brother at the end of a recent school event.  I was so touched by the gesture and I emailed her mom to say thank you.  She mentioned how much she appreciates all that we do here at North Park and I wanted her to know how much I appreciate her children and her family!

…..A second grader at the end of the day said as he was leaving the gymnasium:  “It’s a good thing you have this all to yourself now!”

…..This was Teacher Appreciation Week and I certainly felt appreciated!  Our PTA is wonderful and served a delicious luncheon in the middle of the week.  They held a raffle as well and I won a beautiful plant!

…..Students were very excited to show their appreciation for their teachers this week and several made sure to wish me a “Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!” I received a card from one of my kindergarten students and it was adorable!

…..I was explaining to a few of my classes that I was not going to be at school on Friday and that the plans for PE class would not include gymnastics because not all substitutes would feel comfortable teaching that activity.  I told them that if the weather was nice they would go outside and have some outdoor activity choices and if it rained they would stay inside and do Go Noodle.  One fourth grade student raised his hand and said:   “Either way it’s going to be awesome!”  How’s that for a flexible student???  

…….Our exit question this past week has been:  “Did you work on your goal?”  I have been encouraging students to pick a goal for PE class, as we work on gymnastics skills, and then work toward it.  I had some wonderful discussions with students regarding their goal choices.  One student said that he had a goal that he was going to save for next time but he actually met it that day!  Sometimes students did not meet the goal but I told them that not meeting a goal is ok because it just means that you need to keep trying and persevere.  When students met a goal they were encouraged to make a new one.  It was a terrific way to have students focus on a particular skill or behavior and then verbalize how they were working toward achieving the goal.  Even though it was an exit question, it served as a guide for the lesson!

…..Thursday was “flower day” for teacher appreciation day.  Students were asked to bring in a flower for their teachers.  I received several beautiful flowers and I had a nice bouquet at the end of the day.  I even received one that is a pen!

…..I was amazed this week at the creativity of students as we continued our Drum Fit warm-up at the beginning of gymnastics classes this week.  I noticed that a group of 5th graders naturally came together in a circle and worked to match movements during one of my classes.  I thought it was a good idea so I tried it with other classes and it worked!  Students worked hard to match the movements of their friends as they exercised to the beat!   

…..Later in the week the Growth mindset posters arrived!  The Growth mindset graphic was created by Mike Ginicola (Twitter - @PhysEdDepot) and I learned about it on Twitter.  I had printed out a small copy and was using it during my classes when my principal observed me earlier in the year.  She loved the idea so much that we incorporated it into our character education assembly and our PTA paid to have posters made for each classroom!  Thanks Mike!  

…..This weekend I was bursting with pride as six of my students received the Southeastern Zone of NYS AHPERD Elementary/Middle School Award.  These are student leadership awards and recognize outstanding effort, behavior, sportsmanship, and leadership during PE class.  I am also honored to be the current president of this zone and had the privilege of not only speaking at the ceremony, but also awarding the certificates to my own students!  It was uplifting to be a part of such an awesome occasion and to be in a gymnasium with more than 400 honorees and their families who were just as proud as I was!  As I looked out into the crowd of honorees I was happy to see that the future is indeed bright as these students will be leading the way!

…..I can not end this blog without acknowledging a legend in our field who passed away this week.  Ken Demas passed away suddenly this week and he was an amazing man who impacted the lives of so many in the field of Physical Education and was a part of my NYS AHPERD family.  He will be missed beyond measure and while I am so very sad at his passing, I consider myself lucky to have known him.  His impact will be felt for generations to come.  Rest in peace Ken…….

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 - 5/1/17--5/5/17

Hi everyone,

   How did we get to May already? EXCITEMENT was the word for this week!   You could almost feel the excitement in the air everyday of the week!  It was one of those weeks that was jam-packed with special events but it was also the beginning of our gymnastics unit, which is a fan favorite!

…...One of the “Best Parts” this week started at home before I left for school on Monday.  My backyard opens up to a wilderness area that is maintained by a local conservancy group.  I was getting my breakfast ready and as I was looking out the window I saw something that I couldn’t quite describe.  I moved closer and realized that it was a mother fox!  I watched for a minute and then noticed that there was four or five baby foxes running around and playing with each other!  I had heard from neighbors that there were foxes around but had not seen them before.  The mom fox was protecting her babies and it was so cute to see them running around, jumping over each other, and having so much fun!  It reminded me of my own students and how much fun they have just playing around!

…..Monday was the beginning of our four week gymnastics unit.  Students get so excited because we have some great equipment and wonderful flooring.  It’s always terrific to watch the kindergarten students as they walk in the gym for the first time when the equipment is set up.  They are wide-eyed and stare in disbelief!  Of course, the other students are equally as excited because they know more of what to expect having done the unit the previous year.  One of my second grade students walked in and said:  “I LOVE this school!”

…..Early in the week I was walking by a kindergarten class that was walking back to their classroom.  One of the kindergarten students asked:  “Where are you going?”  (He seemed surprised that I was out of the gymnasium!)  I replied:  “To the office to check my mail”  Then he replied:  “Oh, ok…...have a nice day!  See you later alligator!”

…..As a second grade student was waiting her turn at a springboard station she was standing next to a cone.  All of a sudden she made a connection and remarked:  “We are learning about cones in class!” Apparently, students had a morning work assignment to identify shapes and one of the shapes was a traffic cone just like we have in PE class!  It was so great that she made the connection!  

…..I brought my bike in to advertise a Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic that was being held this week.  As soon as I walked in the door I was asked (by more than one person):  “Did you ride that to school?”  I live too far away to ride to school but I was glad that they thought I might!  During the week I set up some of our fitness bears and lions on the bike and had our Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassadors read some announcements advertising the event.  Cassie and Carlos our Courage Lions, and Physical Eddie all had turns riding the bike in the lobby!

 

…..We celebrated National PE and Sport Week as well as the beginning of National Physical Fitness Month with Operation Healthy North Park.  The race car bags beginning to fill!

…..At our faculty meeting this week we were asked a question: “What is the gift that you get from teaching?”  My immediate answer was:  “the chance to impact the health and future of our students.”  I love my job and I truly consider this chance a privilege and an opportunity to create a future generation of healthy adults…….

…..I spent one morning this week planning the last Healthy Highway assembly with our committee. It was a bittersweet meeting because I was thinking about all of the roads we have traveled on and am sad to leave this behind but it was so nice to see others taking up the charge……..

…..Thursday night we held our Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic.  This is the second year of the event and this year we had even more participants!  Students (and a few adults) brought their bicycles and helmets and had them checked for safety.  Students then challenged themselves on a variety of skill stations and had a wonderful time riding their bicycles at school.  We also had a “Fruit Art” station where students could choose from a fantastic assortment of donated fruit and make some art on their plate before eating it!  We had many volunteers help with our event, including our local police department and the DC Traffic Safety Board.  I enjoyed speaking with families, watching students challenge themselves on their bicycles, and I even saw some former students who came with siblings to the event!  As I was discussing the event with our principal, also a volunteer, we agreed that we could definitely see growth in our students’ skills from last year to this year!  

…..Ok, so I know the year is winding down and my retirement is looming but I still can’t help trying something new.  This week I taught my version of “Pound Fit” (and called it “Drum Fit ) to my students and used it  as a warm up.  We used lummi sticks for drum sticks and since we have a carpeted mat surface on the floor for our gymnastics unit it was a perfect set up for this activity.   I created a Tabata routine and we tapped the sticks to some music while exercising using a Tabata timer for the work-out.  I enjoyed it and when I asked my students:  ”Wasn’t that fun?”  The Smiles told me YES!   Basketball Betty enjoyed it too!

…..A third grade student arrived a bit early to PE one day and said:  “I’ve been working on my muscles!”

…...My Fitness Friday activity involved a third grade class this week.  Each Friday I have been surprising one class and showing up to start the day with some exercise.  As I make my way around the school the students in this class were surprised yet again and I had fun starting the school day off with exercise!  It is important for our students to begin the day with exercise but it is also important for our teachers!  It was wonderful to see the classroom teacher dancing right along!

…..One of my students came to our Bike Rodeo and Safety Clinic on Thursday night but did not have a bicycle to ride.  I offered my bicycle and the offer was readily accepted.  It seemed he had a terrific time at the rodeo and even though he thanked me more than once at the event, on Friday morning he stopped by again to say thank you…….I told him that I was so glad that it all worked out and thanked him for his good manners.

…..We celebrated Project ACES on Friday afternoon.  While the actual day was Wednesday, our students were taking the NYS Math tests and so we planned our event for Friday afternoon.  The weather did not cooperate but we had fun anyway!  The gymnasium was not an option because of the gymnastics equipment set up so we used the cafeteria.  465 students plus at least 50 adults utilized the space and we danced to Go Noodle.  While it got a bit loud at times, everyone agreed that we got some great exercise and were part of something bigger.  I encouraged students to share the event with their families and spread the message of the importance of exercise and healthy choices.  

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.