Spring

You can definitely tell spring is here! West Side is busy with many spring sports: girls on the run, girls softball, soccer, and boys baseball, and middle school track. This year, I am coaching track and helping with GOTR when I can.

Before we look ahead I wanted to recap the last few months:

-Jump Rope for Heart was another HUGE success this year! Our elementary students had the opportunity to raise money for the American Heart Association through a jump rope unit in PE. They raised over $2,000! Our top winner was rewarded with being "PE Teacher for the Day." :)

-Fuel Up to Play 60's Student Team created a Physical Fitness Week in April. During this week, students were given a physical fitness and nutrition challenge each day of the week. If students completed the activities and got a parent signature, they could hand in their slip for points. The class with the most total points at the end of the week received a healthy frozen lemonade treat and a reserved intramural gym time for their class only. Eighth grade took the prize!

-This spring we are busy completing fitness testing in grades 4-8. I found a very useful tool through Fuel Up to Play 60 to help complete these tests: check it out here.

Looking Ahead:

K-2 Students will continue working on batting, fielding, throwing and catching, and base running while incorporating all skills into challenging, cooperative games. We also continue introducing new games, such as the pursuit and evade game called, "Beaches, Boats, and Bridges" from www.thephysicaleducator.com that helps students practice spatial awareness skills.

3-5 Students wrapped up a Racket Sports unit where they were introduced to tennis and pickleball. It was exciting to level the playing field for all students as they tried sports that were brand new to them. We are now working on small sided lead up games of kickball and softball. Students are challenged on learning many different types of games where rules are changed and participation of all teammates is maximized.

6-8 Students just learned about the important concept of the FITT principle when it comes to exercise. They were challenged during a fun relay game to complete a poster that included the letters, words, definitions, and examples of the FITT Principle. (Source: FITT Challenge Lesson Plan) They will try to squeeze in a softball season before the end of the year. They are also busy trying to break WSCS fitness records!!

Elementary Honors Assembly:

I am excited to give honors for both Mileage Club participants this year and PE Challenge winners.
Students who ran the most miles in their class each month will be recognized, as well as the students who served by being recess mileage punchers. To find out more about Mileage Club, go to www.fitnessfinders.net

Students who passed four, five, or six of the PE challenges will also be recognized with varying certificates. To find out more about the PE Challenges, go to www.pecentral.org

June 5 will be here before we know it!

What's New

It's been far too long!

This winter has been packed with much activity inside the West Side gym with PE classes, Intramurals, Box Tops Reward Times, indoor recess days, but also outside the school doors with all of this snow and West Side's infamous sledding hill!

The students at West Side in grades K-2 have been developing their hand-eye coordination skills through the use of speed (cup) stacking and hand dribbling/ball units. We were even able to use our brand new junior size basketball hoops! It is important to remember that each day is a day to build a stronger foundation for future skills, but also to develop the important skills of teamwork, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking- a question I ask each day is: how will I get these students to use their bodies in a creative, new way?

The third grade students have a very unique transition year. We focus intensely on communication, teamwork, and collaboration WHILE practicing foundational movement skills/pre-sports skills. Most of our activities cannot be done working alone, and they can't be done without solving problems in a positive way. This has definitely been a challenge for students who are great listeners and love to be told what to do so that they can do it well! It is a joy to see them light up when they come up with the solution, or they create new ways to be active and complete the mission of our weekly activities.

The fourth and fifth graders are eagerly working on their basketball ball control, dribbling, passing, and shooting skills, and will once again be divided into teams using the sport education model, where they will practice ownership, creativity, and leadership while working in a set team and tournament play.

The middle school students were introduced to a brand new Rhythm Unit after Christmas break that includes Stomp, Line Dancing, Tinikling, and Gymnastics (Tumbling, Balance Beam, and Mini Trampoline). After I taught an introduction of each part, students could perform a short stomp routine, the cotton eye joe line dance, basic gymnastic skills, and basic tinikling steps (a Philippine dance with bamboo poles tapped on the ground). Every student was then able to rank the four activities. Then, I divided them into teams where they get to work with others to create two separate routines of their two favorite rhythm activities. If we ever stop having snow days, these students will perform their routines in front of adult judges and their peers. We are excited for this new opportunity- it is always rewarding to see my students brave enough to try something new and have it end up being something they PREFER to the traditional sports they know well.

On Thursday, the middle school Fuel Up to Play 60 team was able to give a presentation during Chapel. I am the Program Advisor for this fun program and you can learn more at: www.fueluptoplay60.com Their presentation included what FUP60 is, why it's important, how WSCS is incorporating it into our school day, and how every student could help contribute to the program's success. Students were also given the opportunity to make a pledge to be healthier and active every day by signing a large FUP60 banner. This banner will hang near our gym for the remainder of the year as a daily reminder. Some thoughts the team shared were from this devotional by Rick Warren:

"Your physical health is an important part of making your life count. I want to look at the right motivation for getting healthy – what God’s says about the importance of your body in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV).

1. God expects me to manage my body. “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. …I will not be mastered by anything …” (verse 12). Your body is a gift from God. He loans it to you and it’s your responsibility to manage it well. What are you doing with what He’s given you?

2. My body is God’s property. “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord …” (verse 13). Our culture teaches us that we can do whatever we want with our bodies. But God created our bodies, so we don’t have a right to share them with anybody we want.

3. My body will be resurrected after I die. “ … God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (verse 14). God never wastes anything. One day he’s going to resurrect a new version of your body.

4. My body is connected to the body of Christ. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (verse 15). God considers sins against the body to be in a special class because your body is connected to the body of Christ.

5. The Holy Spirit lives in my body. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit … ?” (verse 19). Your body is God’s temple. If you were walking down the street and saw some gang vandalizing a church, you’d do something about it, right? When you don’t take care of your body, you are vandalizing God’s temple.

6. Jesus bought my body on the cross. “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (verse 20). If you want to know how much you’re worth, look at the cross. Jesus with his hands outstretched says, “This is how much you’re worth to me. You’re worth dying for.” You are infinitely valuable.

Keeping your body in shape is a spiritual discipline. It’s not just about losing a few pounds, wanting to live longer, or trying to look nicer. God created your body, Jesus died for it, the Holy Spirit lives in it, your body is connected to Christ, and it’s going to be resurrected one day. When it is, God’s going to hold you accountable for how you managed what he gave you."
-Rick Warren

What great reminders for all of us as we start 2014 and work to worship God in every part of our lives.

Looking ahead- we also have Jump Rope for Heart coming up for Grades 1-5, an opportunity for students to participate in a service project through the American Heart Association. Students learn fun jump roping skills, learn about heart health, and raise money for kids in their area that suffer from heart problems.

Stay warm!

Let's Learn Some New Games

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the Michigan MAHPERD Convention. I was reminded once again how different Phys Ed is today. There are so many new ideas, tools, and outcomes available to use.

Some new ideas I am implementing:
-Listing Health, Fitness, Sport, and Skill focus on the whiteboard so students always know our objective for the day.
-Using more foundational games to introduce strategy concepts to different types of sports (invasion, target, striking/fielding, net/wall categories)
-New report cards that list individual objectives that students meet or do not meet throughout the year.

I have recently been using www.thephysicaleducator.com as a resource. So many great ideas for behavior management, incentives, health, games and more! Definitely worth checking out.

I came across this poem at the end of a book last week. Yet again, it stresses the difference between old and new P.E. It also acts as a reminder that Phys Ed is not sports practice. If you don't have the same audience, why would you teach the same content?

It's hard to improve
when we're all standing still
watching the first picks
gain all the skill.

Let's learn some new games
where no one complains
there are too many rules
too long to explain.

Let's learn some new games
we can play at home
along with some neighbors
and when we're alone

Let''s learn some new games
that make us ALL go
yet the teacher says
that's all she knows.

-Bud Turner

What is Success?

... Hearing one of your non-athletic 4th grade students say, "I wish we had P.E. all day" after completing a 3/4 mile run and coming in last....

THAT is success.


That is just one of many comments I overhear from my students. This is not because of me, but because of the environment that's created in our "classroom." Whether in the gym or on the field, or running laps around the school, or whether fitness or sport day, the expectation is the same: Improve yourself, encourage others, have fun, and work hard.

Middle school students are completing six steps this year related to our overall fitness unit:
1. Learn the components of fitness: Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Muscular Endurance, Muscular Strength, Flexibility, and Body Composition
2. Participate in initial fitness tests: Mile Run, Pacer, Curl Ups, Push Ups, Sit and Reach, Height/Weight
3. Create 4 S.M.A.R.T. goals
4. Design an Action Plan for getting there
5. Perform final fitness tests (in spring)
6. Review action plan

This unit is reinforced with monthly activity/eating logs, optional extra credit health articles, and daily fitness warm ups that emphasize the different components an exercise routine must include for best health benefits.

We are also busy playing soccer, learning about the 17 laws of the game, and having many round robin tournaments anywhere from 1v1players to 12v12!

As a whole school, we also have some VERY EXCITING NEWS...

JUMP WITH JILL IS VISITING US FOR THE FIRST TIME ON OCTOBER 31!
I submitted our 8th grade's "Bone Rap" video remake of Jill Jayne's very own song and sent in almost 100 letters from students ask Jill to visit our school.

She will be visiting us for free and having an assembly/concert in our gym from 1:30-2:30 where K-8 students will gather for a good time and learn how being healthy is cool!

Can't wait!

FUEL UP TO PLAY 60

Dear Parents,

 

This year, West Side Christian Middle School students will be participating in a program called Fuel Up to Play 60.  This program is a very exciting opportunity for our school, as we learn to ‘fuel up’ with healthier foods and play 60 by being active at least one hour every day.

 

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a program founded by the National Dairy Council and NFL, in collaboration with USDA, that empowers students to take charge in making small, everyday changes at school. Students can win cool prizes, like an NFL player visit or Super Bowl tickets, for choosing good-for-you foods and getting active for at least 60 minutes every day. We want kids to make a difference not only in their lives, but also their community.

 

Fuel Up to Play 60 encourages youth to eat healthy and move more — and studies suggest that well-nourished, physically active kids can be better students.

Better nutrition, including eating a healthy breakfast each day, helps students get the nutrients they need and may help improve their academic performance. What's more, being physically active may help students improve self-esteem, cognitive function and test scores.

And with Fuel Up to Play 60, healthy students can have more fun! By participating in the program, youth have the opportunity to earn rewards and prizes. Those students who help build the program may benefit even more. In fact, researchers say peer group interaction may help to influence healthy choices, and student involvement can lead to motivation and engagement in learning.

As an education professional, school adult or parent you work every day to help your students reach their full potential and your school implement its wellness policy. Fuel Up to Play 60 gives you dynamic tools to meet these goals and supports you as you make your school a healthier place.

For Fuel Up to Play 60 to work the best, your school should have at least one Program Advisor — an adult who serves as the program's champion, engages and empowers students as they help implement the program and encourages other adults to get involved. And Program Advisors have opportunities to earn rewards, recognition and funding to make it all happen. If you are interested in being a Program Advisor, please contact Mrs. Verkaik.                                                                                                   (Taken from www.fueluptoplay60.com)

In October, middle school students will have the opportunity to apply to become part of the Student Team, which will have the responsibility to meet weekly with a Program Advisor to implement a monthly challenge for the entire middle school. These physical activity or nutrition challenges can be found in the online playbook or can be created on their own. 

Check out the website to find out more. And, please consider helping your child create a username at www.fueluptoplay60.com.

FUEL UP TO PLAY 60

The Six Steps to Success

 

Step 1: Join the League

Create a username on fueluptoplay60.com

Pledge to Fuel Up and Play 60!

 

Step 2: Build Teams

Create the Student Team

 

Step 3: Kickoff!

Hold a kick off event for all middle school students

 

Step 4: Survey the Field

Complete a School Wellness Investigation.

 

Step 5: Game Time

Earn online badges by participating in monthly physical activity or nutrition challenges

 

Step 6: Scoreboard

Submit success stories about West Side participating in Fuel Up to Play 60 on the website!

The Challenge Behind a Good PE Lesson Plan

I just so happen to pick up a February issue (yes, I know it's September) of Christian Educators Journal and read an article titled, "Christian Education: Authentic and Sticky. I was inspired after reading the ideas laid out by Dan Beerens, especially as I busily try to accomplish many, many objectives and lesson ideas in these first few weeks- while simultaneously trying to build relationships with each one of my four hundred students- all within 30 minutes time- twice a week- in the West Side Christian gym.

Why is it so hard for me to create and implement a lesson with which I'm content?

• I like "sticky" ideas: Ideas that remain or "stick" with students AFTER their time with me and their time at West Side. I like introducing and teaching new exercises, lifetime activities, and games in general that they will remember. Students crave theses sticky ideas, too.

• My students' engagement is the "fuel" I use to keep me going when I teach: "To be truthful, the issue of student engagement is a difficult area for us because if we look at it honestly, we might need to make a change to our instruction that likely means more work. Yet let us acknowledge that we also derive the most joy from our teaching when we have hit upon meaningful questions, lessons, strategies, and resources that engage our students deeply!" -Yes. That pretty much sums it up.

• I'm an over-analyzer. To see if they worked, didn't work. To see if there's something I missed. Or, most importantly, is there a better way of doing it? Have priorities of learning changed? Are there better ways of testing students' health or fitness? Do students really need to know every rule to this particular sport? "We are in a time of reconsideration of what students truly need to know, given both our access to information and the fact that some things seem not to be as important given the scope of our world today."We live in a world of constant change- not that change is ALWAYS good. But sometimes- it IS.

• I want my students to "flourish": According to Wolterstorff, flourishing is about living in harmony with God, neighbor, creation, and self. I feel that I have a big responsibility in this flourishing through the way in which I teach. Am I creating a passion for learning and creative expression? Am I creating a desire to serve? Am I creating connections they can see in their learning? Am I allowing them to become divergent thinkers as they creatively solve problems? Am I teaching them all that God has gifted them with? That God calls them to? Am I demonstrating effective life habits and spiritual disciplines? Am I teaching a desire to act morally and ethically across all aspects of life?

I love what I do- and the challenges it involves. I truly hope that I can teach my students to be "foolish" in the eyes of the world: "...by teaching our students to choose love over fear, peace over contentment, patience over irritability, kindness over neglect, generosity over selfishness, faithfulness over deceitfulness, gentleness over pride, and self control over immediate gratification."

......in just thirty minutes. :)


Oh, and have you read this yet? http://writeproject.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/selling-grace-the-future-of-christian-education/


Beerens, Dan. "Christian Education: Authentic and Sticky." Christian Educators Journal (2013): 4-7. Print.

And We're Back!

It's so good to be back.

Walking into school seeing all of those familiar, smiling faces definitely beats last year's attempt at getting to know everyone all at once and being the "new" teacher. :)


To start off the year, I shared this information with my middle school students through a newsletter:

In 2009, 1,375 physical educators participated in an online survey for NASPE, the National Association of Sport and Physical Education. This survey explored key aspects of PE programs in our nation’s schools.

For nearly 50% of these educators, the primary focus of their PE program is “health-related fitness,” followed by “motor skills and movement forms” (33%), “personal and social responsibility” (12%) and “preparation for sport participation” (6%).

When asked to rate each on importance for a middle school setting, physical educators prioritized “health-related fitness” as most important (87%) and “preparation for sport participation” as least important (25%).

So, is WSCS part of this “new PE”? I’d like to say so. But please don’t be mistaken, I love many traditional and non-traditional sports. But teaching sports is not my sole purpose and PE class is not sports practice. My job is to use sports among other activities to encourage lifetime physical activity. My responsibility is to give each student the necessary tools to feel confident in their skills, feel knowledgeable in their personal health, and become attracted to some new activities that they can use after their time at WSCS.

The National Standards for Physical Education are listed in the top left corner of this newsletter. As we go throughout this year, I encourage you to ask your kids what activities, exercises, worksheets, or sports they are participating in. My goal is to address all five standards throughout a variety of fun and engaging activity.

I am blessed to be able to call this my job. I look forward to teaching, challenging, and encouraging each student this year as we dive into our own “new PE”.

After our discussion, we reviewed expectations, assignments, and opportunities they will have this year. We then jumped into some cooperative team challenges:

1) Zig Zag Team Toss
2) Group Juggling
3) Team Mat Challenges

2nd-5th grades also reviewed expectations and rules, discussed what P.E. stands for, and started some fun team challenges that encouraged following directions and encouragement like:

1) Space Invaders
2) Shipwreck
3) Team Juggle
4) Fitness/Exercise Stations



Once each class learns how to work together cooperatively in an encouraging way, we will jump into our first units, Fitness Testing for 4th-8th, Aerobic Fitness for 3rd, and Body Parts/Actions/Planes for 2nd.