• Welcome to Physical Education

     Mrs. Monte & Mrs. Draxdorf

    Our goal is to teach your children the basic skills and concepts they will need to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
    This year we will be focusing on improving communication skills and learning to work together through games and sports using a TEAMWORK approach. We are aiming for 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity EVERY DAY.
     
    Each class will join us in the gym once a week for a structured Physical Education lesson. Our units of study this year will include: Spatial Awareness, Jump Rope Skills, Ball and Manipulative Control with Hands, Ball Control with Feet, Grid Games, Small Sided Games, Net Games, Adventure Learning, and Creative Movement. Woven in every lesson are health and wellness concepts, physical fitness, and social-emotional learning. Students will work with their homeroom teachers each day through Move-to-Improve activities, to increase their daily physical activity. Additionally, we are developing a core set of PE vocabulary to help students speak with accountability about the work they are doing in the gymnasium, in their classrooms, and at home. Students are encouraged to share their learning with you at home. As the weather permits, we encourage you to let the children venture outdoors to play PE, to practice and apply the skills they are learning about in school. Please actively supervise your children. Playing outdoors is fun if it is safe. Setting ground rules for outdoor play is important. Here are some suggested 
    1. Always stay in the safe play zone established by your grown up (ie. between the fire hydrant and Sarah's house).
    2. Stay on the sidewalk - if a ball rolls out into the street, wait for it to roll to the side of the curb and then pick it up. If the ball lands on the opposite side of the street, follow rules for crossing the street, look both ways, get a grown up to cross you, or ask someone on the other side of the street to toss you the ball.
    3. Follow the light cues. If it gets dark, it's either getting late or the weather might change. This is a good time to head home and get inside.
    4. Stay in contact with your grown up. Keep in eyesight of your grown up. If you are old enough to be out without a grown up, take a fully charged cell phone and check in with your grown up: when you arrive at the park, before you head home, and every hour or so.
    5. Stay alert. If you have a problem, go home, call home, or get the help of a grown up you know. If you have an EMERGENCY, call 911! 
    You can help your kids with their learning by asking them about the games they are playing in Physical Education class. Please make sure they come to school prepared to engage in high-energy physical activity on their scheduled PE day. All students MUST wear sneakers on PE day. Other shoes are unsafe and can cause students to trip and fall. Also, sweat pants and short sleeved t-shirts are suggested as the PE uniform. As the weather changes, layer your children's clothing with a short sleeved t-shirt under the long sleeved layers. We want students to be able to remove the outer layers to prevent over heating during PE-play. A plastic or metal bottle with cool water is recommended for PE class. The children work hard and we teach them to stay hydrated.
     
     

    Students in fourth and fifth grade will complete ALL the components of the FITNESSGRAM evaluation this year. The FITNESSGRAM is a series of standardized tests which evaluate each child's fitness levels for body mass index, muscular fitness, and cardio-aerobic endurance. As part of this evaluation, we will measure each child's height and weight, muscular fitness for curl ups, push ups, trunk lift, and sit and reach, and cardio-aerobic endurance. These can all be done safely in a small, indoor space. During the next 2 months, students will be able to use their FITNESSGRAM data to further develop personal learning goals in PE. They will work to improve the level of health related fitness and can request to be retested in any area of FITNESSGRAM in which they feel they have made significant improvements. Students' individual results will be available later this Spring on your child's NYC Schools Account (NYCSA). NYCSA Link Meanwhile, information regarding the FITNESSGRAM evaluation tool can be found using the link on this page NYC Schools Physical Education Launch Page. 

     

    Mrs. Monte  Mrs. Draxdorf