The Best Parts of My Week....11/22-11/26

Hi everyone! This was Thanksgiving week and early release days for parent/teacher conferences and so it was a short week for students which gave me some time to reflect on my own "attitude of gratitude". I am thankful for many things in my life - my family, my friends, my school, my work, technology, and so much more! I realized that in a way, I am giving thanks each week as I share with you "The Best Parts of My Week"!


.....Monday was our 50th day of school! Our primary students count the days of school as part of their Math activities and celebrate at certain milestones. Several years ago, some of our teachers decided to celebrate the 50th day of school with a 1950's themed day. They asked if I could support this celebration by teaching some dances from the 1950's. Well, it grew into the 50th Day of School Sock Hop! We had so much fun doing the Hand Jive, the Stroll, the Twist, and listening to some genuine 50's music!

.....I was dressed up for the Sock Hop on Monday. Some people who saw me did not understand why I was dressed the way I was and I spent some time during the day explaining. At the end of the day however, when I was doing bus duty, one of the older students walked by and said "Oh, it must be the 50th day of school!" She liked my outfit and remembered participating in the sock hop herself!

Have a great week!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/15-11/19

Hi everyone,
This was an incredibly busy week "chock full" of wonderful moments! Read on.......


.....On Monday we held our second Healthy Highway assembly. It was full of smiles and energy! We introduced "Respect Road" and danced the "Healthy Highway" dance! It was a sight to see everyone dancing and moving forward on the "Healthy Highway"!

.....As part of our character education program, students can be rewarded for good behavior with a special card that allows them to go to the front of the line for lunch. Tuesday was the first day and students were so proud they couldn't wait to tell us! One student was so excited that she went to the front of the line all the way to the cash register without getting her lunch!

.....I had a wonderful opportunity this week to attend and present at the NYSAHPERD annual conference. While in attendance at the conference, I enjoyed meeting new people and connecting with colleagues who are just as passionate about quality Physical Education as I am! My district supports and encourages professional development and I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity. Conferences re-energize me, validate the work that I do, and provide me with information about the latest innovative ideas and programs that can only improve the health and wellness of our students and ourselves! I learned so many new things and I can't wait to try them out at North Park!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/8-11/12

Hi everyone,
These are the "Best Parts of My Week!

.......A parent stopped me in the lobby early this week and said "I LOVE your program!" I thanked her, of course, for the kind words. This took me by surprise because this is a new parent that I had not yet met. She obviously knew who I was (maybe it was the sweats....). She continued to talk about how hard it is for kids to stay fit and she appreciated all that our program does to promote and encourage healthy lifestyle choices! That conversation started off the week on a high note!

..... I was chatting with some students while I waited for their teacher to pick them up after PE. We were talking about our Fit Kids program and our new venture - Healthy Highway. I told the students that we were going to have a Healthy Highway assembly on Monday and during the assembly they would learn some new ways to earn points and "miles". One of the students asked if we were going to do the Healthy Highway Dance. Now, this was a fifth grade class and when the question was asked, I was not sure if they were looking forward to it or not. I answered: "Of course we are going to do the Healthy Highway Dance!" The students replied excitedly that they loved the dance! We all started spontaneously doing parts of the dance! I am so happy that they are looking forward to it! I am too!

.....I started a lesson on pathways with my primary students and I was talking about maps and roads. Students had a jump rope on the floor and were moving in many different ways along it as if it were a straight road. One of my students raised his hand and told me that he had a fortune cookie recently that said that he could travel down any road that he wanted to! I agree!!!

.....My upper elementary students continue to use our PE Packs to use pedometers at home. I was talking with one student waiting for a bus and it was raining. I gave him some suggestions to use the pedometer indoors and he said that he would figure out some way to use it. The next day I was reviewing log cards from the pack and I discovered that he had logged over 1200 steps. This was particularly significant to me on many levels, but mostly because this student found a way to exercise despite obstacles in the way!

Enjoy your week! Thanks for reading about the Best Parts of My Week!

The Best Parts of My Week....11/1-11/5

Hi everyone,
Hard to believe it's November already!

.....I had the privilege of having a colleague from another district come to visit my school on Monday! It is always fun to collaborate with other like-minded professionals!

.....Tuesday was a teacher training day in our district and as a result, school was closed for students. I had the opportunity to attend and present at the SEZ of NYSAHPERD Election Day Conference. It was a terrific day and I always come back energized and ready to try out some new ideas!

.....My primary students are finishing up a unit on cooperative/adventure education. As a culmination to this unit, students were climbing our new rock wall. As our wall is magnetic, I placed random letters on the wall and challenged students to touch all of the letters that they could climb to and reach. Many of these students have not been on our wall before and the range of emotions on their faces that I saw before, during, and after their turn on the wall was priceless! I feel extremely fortunate to have a rock wall and provide the opportunity for the challenge and adventure of climbing and spotting to my students!

.....As a result of a grant I received, I was able to create a program called "PE Packs to GO!" where students borrow pedometers for use at home. Students share the packs with two other friends and I challenged the students to reach a combined goal of 10,000 steps. As you might imagine, there are some frustrations involved in getting the packs back in a timely manner.....but on Friday, one of my students came to find me to tell me that his group decided on a new goal - 20,000 steps! He said that two of the three friends who had used the pack had already gotten more than 16,000 steps and the third friend had yet to use it so they increased the goal! That made me realize that this program is definitely motivating students to move more outside of school!

Have a great week! Feel free to e-mail me the best parts of your week at northparkpe@yahoo.com!