February 13, 2014

2nd Marking Period

F.A.P.E.S. Report Cards

While we are assessing students on skills throughout the school year, Art, Music, and P.E. teachers contribute grades to the students report cards during the 2nd and 4th marking periods.  The second marking period report cards were posted to skyward last week.  Often times, people miss the grades/comments given by the F.A.P.E.'s teachers because they are at the very end of the report card on the page AFTER the classroom teachers comments for the marking period.  If you haven't had a chance to look at your child's P.E. report card yet, you can do so by clicking on the link below and logging into Skyward.

Click here to log into Skyward Family Access to see your child's P.E. report card!

Digital Learning Week

This past week, many teachers participated in Walled Lake's Digital Learning Day/Week.  The idea behind Digital Learning Day was to find creative and meaningful ways to incorporate technology into the students daily lessons.  In P.E., the students got to enjoy several stations that incorporated the use of technology when they came to the gym.  The two favorite activities were the Wii exercise station and the use of the "Virtual Active" Ipad app that allowed students to take a virtual run through the Grand Canyon!  Other forms of technology that students got to experiment with included the use of digital heart rate monitors, pedometers, video assessment Ipad apps, and an interactive website that allowed them to test their knowledge of the skeletal system.  The students had a ball using the various forms of technology and are looking forward to continuing to use some of these tools on occasion during P.E.

At one station students used heart rate monitors to see how jumping rope influenced their heart rates.

These students are taking an online, interactive "Bones Quiz"

Students are exercising with the wii game "Hollywood Workout".

Students are using an Ipad during P.E. to take a "virtual run" through the Grand Canyon!

P.E. Winter Olympics

This week during P.E., the students have had a chance to compete in our Glengary version of the Winter Olympics.  During class this week, students entered the gym to the sounds of the Olympic Theme music.  They were divided into countries/teams and competed in various events including the Olympic Torch relay, Carpet Square Ice Skating, The Olympic Ring teamwork challenge, and Scooter Bobsledding.  And since the Olympic Games are built around the idea of good will and sportsmanship, we celebrated the winning team by playing their country's national anthem while the rest of the students gave them congratulatory high fives!  Below are a couple of short videos of some of the events.

Scooter Bobsled Racing

Olympic Ring Team Challenge

Don't Sit, Get FIT!

I am issuing a challenge to our Glengary students this week as we go away for.  Each student is bringing home a vacation exercise journal that they may use while we are off next week.  Students who decide to participate are asked to log the types of physical activity that they do each day along with the number of minutes.  For example, on Saturday someone might write, Sledding 45 minutes.  Students will use the calendar provided to keep track of their minutes of exercise/activity and total them up at the end of the vacation.  When we return, students will turn the papers in to me by Feb. 25th.  The class that accumulates the most minutes of activity during the break will earn an additional 30 minutes of P.E.time with Mr. Vogt!  

I will be looking forward to reading about all the different activities you did while we were off.  Have a GREAT VACATION!

January P.E. News

What's Happening In P.E. This Month?

Hello Gators and thanks for tuning in for the latest P.E. Blog entry.  I apologize that I missed sending out an entry in December but the month got busy and before I knew it were were out of school for the break.  

For those of you who do not know, Linda Grinnell is the second P.E. teacher here at Glengary.  She travels to our school and teaches the first grade and fourth grade classes on Thursday afternoons.  She also volunteers time at Glengary to work with many of our other students on brain gym activities.  The following is a message from Mrs. Grinnell:

Dear Glengary Families,

I’m thrilled to be back at Glengary Elementary, teaching on Thursdays  - our wonderful first and fourth graders!  I will also be volunteering on Wednesdays –again working with our students, in small groups - sharing Brain Gym activities.

Mr. Vogt and I are working together to present some exciting

lessons that valuable physical fitness and healthy lifestyle content, and fun activities for our entire building. 

A little bit about myself...I am originally from Ohio, and have lived here in Michigan for the last 24 years.  I am a proud Eastern Michigan University graduate, and am currently finishing my Masters degree through Western Michigan University – with a concentration in Adapted Physical Education.   I also received a Culinary Arts degree from Schoolcraft College, so I do enjoy cooking and baking!

I am married to a great guy, and have two children, in college.

We enjoy: traveling, working on our home, gardening, playing with our dogs, and all types of sports!

My goal is to inspire your child to initiate or continue healthy lifestyle choices – keeping physically active for a lifetime!

If you need to reach me, please contact me at LindaGrinnell@wlcsd.org.

Glengary Students Celebrate Diversity in P.E.

At the beginning of the month, we continued with our celebration of "Diversity Week" by learning about some traditional games from other countries and cultures from around the world.  During this time we learned and played some games from places like China, Greece, England, Ghana, Russia, and Native America.  We also learned a few facts about each of these countries and cultures.  For example we learned that the Great Wall of China is about 1,000 miles longer than the distance from New York to California!

Can Your Child Tie His/Her Shoes?

Having shoes tied properly is an important safety factor for kids moving and playing in the gym.  Does your student know how to tie his/her shoes?  We could definitely use your help with this one!  It often takes a big chunk of time away from our P.E. classes and/or classroom instruction when there are lots of shoes to be tied.  So if your child has tie shoes but has not yet learned how to tie, please take some time and work with them on this skill.  It is great practice for developing important fine motor skills and it will give your child a huge sense of pride and accomplishment once they are able to do this on their own!  And once they know how to tie, they always get a kick out of helping to tie the shoes of others who do not know how (and it is a big help for me!).  Below is a picture that you or your child can use for a reference to practice with and we THANK YOU in advance for your help as well!

Fitness and Nutrition Week

After completing our mini unit of games from around the world, we spent a week working on various fitness activities and learning about proper nutrition.  The students participated in lots of fun fitness stations and also played a couple of games that helped students to learn about eating a balanced meal using the MyPlate concept.  We also talked about how some foods are "fuel" for your body and are really important, and some foods are "junk" which we also called "sometimes" foods.  With the younger students in grades K-2 we talked about various snack foods that we sometimes eat and what might be healthier alternatives.  During one activity, the students had to write a healthy food choice on the board to get back into the game after being tagged by a "Junk Food Monster".  Here is one of the "lists":

In a similar activity, Kindergarten students had to go "shopping" to trade their junk food snack in for a healthy alternative.  They had to "pay" for their shopping items with exercises.  The students then had to sort the various foods into healthy, and less healthy columns.

Our 3-5 grade students learned about building balanced meals using the Myplate template.  We talked about the importance of eating a balanced meal, and while that may not happen at every single meal, it is a great goal to strive for.  During one of our class activities, students had to go on a scavenger hunt to find the necessary food items to build a balanced meal.  The team that was able to correctly categorize each food item and fill their place mat first was the winning team!  Afterwards we debriefed about many of the food items that the teams had and which category each item belonged in.

While we learned about the importance of eating healthy meals, we also continued to focus on the important role that daily exercise plays in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  And while the students are always working on various exercises and physical activity, we took some time during these lessons to incorporate some new and unique activities to help build both strength and endurance.

The slide show below has some pictures of our Gators having fun with some of our activities this past month.

Welcome To The New P.E. Blog!

Glengary's P.E. Teachers

Hello and thank you for checking out the first edition of the new Glengary P.E. Blog!  My name is Bob Vogt and this is my 15th year of teaching Physical Education with the Walled Lake School District and my second year at Glengary.  I am married with two great daughters Natalie and Grace, who are third and first grade students in the Walled Lake School District.  When I am not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, camping, and staying active by riding my bike, running, and playing softball.  I enjoy teaching elementary physical education because I feel that the lessons the students learn now can have a positive impact on their health for the rest of their lives!

*Mrs. Grinnell also teaches at P.E. at Glengary.  She is here on Thursday afternoons and teaches first and fourth grade once a week.  Mrs. Grinnell is looking forward to sharing some information about herself in the next blog entry!

Fall Fitness Testing

This year Glengary Students began their time in P.E. by working on our annual fall fitness tests.  Students in grades 2-5 all participated in 4 different physical fitness tests to measure their current fitness levels.  The students worked on a timed run for cardiovascular fitness, a one minute sit up test for abdominal strength, a flexed arm hang to test upper body strength, and a shuttle run to test speed and agility. For families that would like to work on fitness at home, the timed jog is a great place to start!  The object is to be able to jog continuously without stopping to walk or rest.  The grade level goals for continuous jogging are:

1st Grade - 6 Minutes      2nd Grade - 8 Minutes     3rd Grade - 10 Minutes   

4th Grade - 12 Minutes     5th Grade - 14 Minutes

Students recorded each of their times/scores on our Fall Fitness Test sheets.  These scores will be kept and compared to their final spring fitness tests to show how much they have improved throughout the year!  Below is an example of a 5th grade fitness test sheet.

While all of the 2nd-5th graders were working hard on their fitness tests, the students in Kindergarten and First grade learned about movement and personal space.  They played games and participated in a variety of activities that helped them to be aware of their bodies and moving through space.  K-1 students also spent time learning and practicing motor skills like running, hopping, skipping and galloping.

Soccer/Kicking Unit

After completing all of the fitness testing, the students in grades K-5 all participated in a unit on Soccer and Kicking.  Grades 3-5 learned soccer skills such as foot dribble, in-step kick, passing, and offensive/defensive strategy.  These skills were implemented in games like Sideline Soccer, Knock Out, Number Soccer, and 4x4 Soccer.  Toward the end of our unit, students even got a chance to go outside to play soccer during P.E.and enjoy some of the last nice weather days of the fall.

During this unit, students in grades K-2 learned about dribbling a ball with their feet.  We focused on learning cues like: 1.  Dribble with sides of feet   2.  Control the ball by keeping it close (don't just chase it!)  3.  Eyes looking forward to see the field.  We spent lots of time practicing dribbling a ball by playing games like Shark Attack, Pin Dribble, and Soccer Pirates.

We also focused on kicking the ball with an in-step kick for power and distance.  Students learned to kick the ball with the laces of their dominant foot in games like Number Soccer, Team Kickball, and Home Run Derby.

Meet Mr. Bones!

Twice each month we typically end our classes by spending some time with Mr. Bones!  We use our model skeleton to learn about the bones and muscles in our bodies.  This week classes learned about their VERTEBRAE.  Students learned that they have 33 vertebrae that make up their spinal column.  They learned that each of these bones can bend or twist slightly to allow their body's to bend, twist, and move.  We also learned that one of the most important functions of our vertebrae is to protect our spinal cord from injury.

Heads-Up Concussion Form

Recently, the Michigan Legislature passed legislation which requires that all athletes AND physical education students have a signed concussion awareness form on file in order to participate in athletics and/or physical education.  Many of you have already signed and returned this form to Mrs. Maten our school secretary.  But if you have not yet filled out a concussion form, the link below will take you to a site where you can download/print the form.  Please fill it out and return it to Mrs. Maten as soon as possible so that your child doesn't miss out on any of their P.E. time!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CONCUSSION FORM

Click below to see some of our great Glengary Gators working hard during P.E.!