This Week's Agenda

October is Eye Injury Prevention Month, Home Eye Safety Month, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Stop America’s Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Today Month, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, Mental Illness Awareness Week (2-8), Drive Safely to Work Week (3-7), Child Health Day (3), Walk to School Day (5), World Mental Health Day (10), World Food Day (16), Red Ribbon Week (23-31), and National Drug Facts Week (October 31-November 6).

We have been working on a new stretching routine in our PE classes that involve dynamic stretching rather than static stretching.  Dynamic stretching involves movement and form rather than static stretching (standing and stretching, which is the way most of us learned how to stretch growing up).  Studies have shown that dynamic stretching helps to increase flexibility and to reduce injury over time, so we are getting more “bang for our buck” with dynamic stretching.  The new stretching technique is also multi-stepped, which should help learning development in the traditional classroom.

We are nearly finished with President’s testing (third grade through eighth grade)—a series of Physical Education tests that gauge muscular strength, muscular endurance, speed and quickness, and flexibility among others.  The tests include pull-ups, curl-ups, flex arm hang, shuttle run, pushups, sit and reach, mile run (half mile for third grade including Mrs. Elliot’s class), and I have added an additional test and that is the pole climb on the playground.  Returning students will be told their results of last year and the idea is they show improvement from their fourth quarter results as they perform the tests in the first quarter this year. 

Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade will continue working with the balance beam.  We have started going backwards over the balance beam with our eyes looking forward (our most challenging feat yet).

Preschool has started working on daily procedures in the gym.  We have also been working on simple games such as Simon Says.

As always, it is expected that each student is to come to class each day with their gym uniform, have a good attitude, ready to learn, and ready to work.