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…….
