Think Fit, Get Fit, Stay Fit!

Dear Parents and Guardians,                                                           

"Physical Education is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." John F. Kennedy.

Before Thanksgiving break, we completed creative dance unit for all grades. Please ask your child to show you some of the creative dance moves they learned.  This week we did a short unit on Fitness.  This was to introduce your child to the four health-related physical fitness components including cardio-respiratory endurance or strong heart/lungs, muscle strength or strong muscles, flexibility or stretching and body composition. The objective was to have students understand the four components and be able to identify and/or do exercises that will improve each fitness component throughout their lifetime.

Starting in December, grades k-1 will start a Gymnastic unit and grades 2-4 will begin a basketball unit. Gymnastics activities are an important component of children's experiences in physical education.  Balance, stunts and introductory tumbling activities are closely related. Stunts are primarily designed to increase abilities such as balance, coordination, flexibility, agility and strength. Tumbling, at beginning level, involves various types of body rolls and inverted balances that encourage the development of these same attributes.  In addition to these elements of physical fitness, children learn important personal lessons including self-confidence, initiative, social skills (sharing, taking turns, courtesy, and respect for others).  

Basketball is a great activity for elementary students, and it is taught and played in all types of settings.  Basketball involves a variety of skills that may be practiced individually, in pairs, or with groups.  In this unit, we have planned activities for students to practice and develop fundamental skills required for successful game play.  Activities in this unit follow a high-activity, skill progression which can be adapted for a variety of skill levels.  Aligned with the Physical Education Content and Performance National Standards, activities are designed to include and challenge all students physical skills, while maintaining enjoyable, health-promoting, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during class.

If we can be of help, please feel free to call us at school 225-8264. Or e-mail us at either emmanuelr@mpsvt.org or mariej@mpsvt.org. Also feel free to check our blog: uesfitnessforlife.blogspot.com

Thank you for your support at home!

“Healthy kids make better students. Better students make healthy communities.”

October Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

What a great start of the year with your children!  Of course the highlights is the mile run.  The Kindergartens were the “shining stars” in this.  Imagine over 30 children running laps around the building on cold October day. The focus of the mile run was to introduce the children to the four health-related fitness components and to know which exercise the can do to improve each of them including: Cardiorespiratory, Muscle Strength, Flexibility and Body Composition

We have just completed a unit on Cooperative Learning with a focus on team building, learning and understanding PE class expectations, and getting to know your children better.

Beginning in October, the lower grades (k-1) will start parachute activities. A developmentally appropriate activity with elementary aged children.  Each day of the unit will review and practice parachute terminology (umbrella, mountain, mushroom, etc.).  Besides the parachute activities, your children will also learn, practice and understand locomotor movements including walking, running, skipping, hopping, galloping, leaping, jumping and sliding.  This is a foundation of human movement, and it will improve your children’s coordination.

Grades 2-4 will spend the month of October jogging up to Harrison field for a soccer unit.  Despite being a relatively new sport in the United States, soccer is incredibly popular among elementary aged children in physical education classes.  Between the two of us, we have the experience, content knowledge and the confidence to provide quality and developmentally appropriate lessons.  Each day of the Soccer unit will focus on one of the fundamental skills inherent to the game of soccer. These skills include dribbling, ball control, passing, and shooting.  

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions and/or concerns. You can e-mail us at either emmanuelr@mpsvt.org or mariej@mpsvt.org, or feel free to call us at school 225-8264. Also, you can learn about what we expect your children to know, do and understand in accordance to national standards by visiting our blog at: uesfitnessforlife.blogspot.com

Sincerely,
Emmanuel Riby-Williams and M. Jennings

Physical Education September Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,                                                            September 1, 2016

Welcome to Union Elementary School Physical Education!  Your children will be moving and learning in PE class this year.  Classes will be 45 minutes long, twice a week. On the back of this letter you will find our yearly plan.  Feel free to stop in the gym or on Harrison field anytime to see your child in action.  We always have a chair ready to make you feel welcome or you may choose to participate with your child!

Your child should come prepared and ready for movement on gym days by wearing: sneakers, pants or shorts with elastic band, and a short sleeve shirt.  On cool days, we will wear our sweaters or sweatshirts outside. It’s important for your child to come prepared so they will be comfortable and safe for all our activities.  

The bedrock of our program is focused on lifetime activities and fitness. The lower grades (k-1) will be working on movement and explorartion activities. While the upper grades (2-4) will be working on skill-related movement activites. We will also start to learn and enjoy how important it is for our hearts to beat fast through our award-winning Jump Rope for Heart program.

Union Elementary School will be having an Open House this fall, and would love for you to join us in the gym and learn all about our curriculum. More information about this night will be sent out soon.

If we can be of help, please feel free to call us at school 225-8264. Or e-mail us at either emmanuaelr@mpsvt.org or  mariej@mpsvt.org.

Feel free to check out our blog: uesfitnessforlife.blogspot.com  

Thank you very much for your support at home!

Sincerely,

Emmanuel Riby-Williams and M.Jennings

Thank you to all our families for attending this year's Family Fitness Night!

Yoga with visiting instructor

Nutrition Bingo Fun 

Enjoying all the healthy snacks

Nutrition Bingo Challenge

Time to dance- Zumba Style!

Jump Rope for Heart fundraising featured in the Times Argus!

April 2016 PE Newsletter

Dear Families,

Thanks to you all for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart event at Union Elementary School!  Students in second to fourth grade benefited from strengthening their hearts and raising funds for the American Heart Association. The students raised over $10,000, which is the most our school has ever raised!  In a few months students will get their thank you gifts and find out the rest of the results from the American Heart Association.

Beginning this month, grades 2 to 4 will start volleyball, and the lower grades will begin a dribbling, kicking and trapping unit.  Playing volleyball is a way to improve physical strength and health.  Throughout the unit students will learn and participate in activities that will increase their agility, hand-eye coordination, fast reflexes and vertical jump.  Other volleyball-related activities will help your child learn vital life skills including: competition, staying upbeat, working hard and being active.  Your child will not only learn how to be good team player, but also learn good sportsmanship.

The lower-grades unit focuses on the development of foot striking skills such as dribbling, passing, striking and trapping the ball. Students will learn through experimentation, exploration and enjoyment. These fundamental foot skills provide a developmentally appropriate first step towards participating in soccer.

Union Elementary School PE program will be hosting a Family Fitness Night on May 12th. Four fitness stations will be open and available for families to participate in heart healthy activities including: cardio-respiratory, muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, and nutrition.  We hope that parents and family members will come and participate with their children. We will send more information regarding this in the near future. Stay tuned!!

Best,

MJ and Emmanuel Riby-Williams

March Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope this newsletter finds you well and in great spirits. You might have heard from your child that this year, we couldn’t go outside for our planned Winter Adventure unit. This was due to the dry winter and lack of snow for meaningful snowshoeing and other winter-related activities.  In place of the Winter Adventure unit, we had a short unit about fitness components including: what cardio-respiratory activities are, muscle strength, flexibility, and what a healthy diet looks like. By the end of the unit, students were using this language as it relates to physical fitness.  

This month is Jump Rope for Heart month, which means all grade levels will be learning and practicing various forms of jump rope.  Also, grades 2-4 will be participating in the Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser. During the first week of March, all 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders will be given a packet to bring home to collect donations to help raise money for the American Heart Association. Throughout this month students will learn a variety of different jumping rope skills including short, long, Chinese, and double dutch techniques. Throughout the month, we’ll also be talking about ways to keep your heart strong and healthy.

The culminating activity for this unit will be having a Jump Rope Day. The day will include all the different types of rope jumping they have learned throughout the month, and a mini-jump rope competition. The students will be able to choose whatever jump rope activity they like during this class period. We look forward to this culminating activity! Please help support your student through this fundraiser! The packets will be sent home during the first week of this month, and are due on March 25th 2016.

The Physical Education Program here has some exciting news to share! We will be hosting a Family Fitness Night on May 5th. Both gyms will be open and available to use, with various heart-healthy activities to participate in.  We hope that parents and family members will come and participate in activities with their children. We will send more information regarding this in the near future. Stay tuned!!

Sincerely,

Emmanuel Riby-Williams and Marie “MJ” Jennings  

January PE Newsletter 2016

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Your children are happy skillful movers in physical education class! We have just completed  successful Basketball and Gymnastics units. One of the many highlights of these units was to see students who had initial difficulties performing some of these skills, showing enormous self-confidence and self-esteem in demonstrating these skills towards the end of the units. The basketball unit presented students with fundamental skills necessary for game situations.

Beginning in the month of January, we will start  Dribbling, Volleying and Striking Unit for grades K-1, and grades 3-4 will begin a Juggling Unit.  The dribbling, volleying, and striking unit builds upon manipulative skills previously introduced, and presents more advanced activities for students to learn and practice.  The juggling unit helps students develop self-esteem, self-confidence, coordination and concentration, and to improve arm and shoulder rotation.

We encourage parents and guardians to come see their children in action during their PE class. Let us know in advance so we can get a seat ready for you, or you can participate if you choose to do so.  Also, for your children’s comfort and safety, we need your help by making sure your children bring their sneakers on PE days.

Happy New Year to you all!!

Sincerely,

Emmanuel Riby-Williams and Marie “MJ” Jennings