PE

We are getting near the end of the school year and that means swimming for grades 2-8. Grades 2-5 will swim twice per week with 1 normal day of regular PE instruction. Middle school will swim 3 times per week beginning on May 15. Classes will swim until May 31. The last week of school, classes will pick their favorite games and activities to play. This is a fun way to end the year and make all of our students happy.

I would also like to write about our newest addition to the MJGDS PE Program, the Presidential Fitness Challenge that students in grades 1-8 will be participating in. I will individually test our students in 5 activities. They are push-ups, sit-ups, sit and reach, shuttle run, and 1/2 mile run. Students will get to compete against other boys and girls in the age groups across the U.S. Based on their performance they will earn awards. If they score at or above the 85th percentile in all 5 activities they will earn the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. If they score at or above the 50th percentile on all 5 tests they will earn the National Physical Fitness Award. Finally, if they participate in all 5 activities, but one or more of their scores fall below the 50th percentile they will earn the Participant Physical Fitness Award. I have never run this program, but am looking forward to seeing what our students score and building it into my curriculum.

I was always taught to practice what you preach, so as a PE teacher I wanted to be a model of health. After a tough time in my life last summer filled with personal issues, joint pain, and soul searching, I looked back and reflected on myself. I dedicated myself to include positive qualities that I wanted our students to have. I wanted to be a better role model for them. I am a true believer in positive qualities rubbing off on everyone around you. I started to change my eating habits in the hopes of losing weight to ease my joint pains and changed my exercise habits to be more dedicated to fitness instead of adding more muscle to my body. Many people don’t know, but I am also an A.C.E. certified personal trainer. This helps tremendously in my lessons and allows me to be able to talk more about nutrition and exercise technique in our PE classes. Since the beginning of the school year I have lost 30 pounds of body weight and have alleviated all of my joint pains due to this. I feel great and am able to teach all 25 of my weekly PE classes pain free and super energized.

As an educator, my greatest gift is to be able to help others. If there are individuals out there that need assistance getting started in an exercise program or just have general questions about nutrition, fitness, or exercise please don’t hesitate to ask. I am here to help ALL! Exercise is the cure for so many ailments. Stress, high blood pressure, weight loss, etc. are all controlled through exercise. The completion of an exercise session releases powerful endorphins that flood the body with a feeling of well-being. It is our body’s way of congratulating us by making us feel good. Good luck on your fitness quests and should you need any assistance please stop by my office or email me and ask. I love to help! GO MARLINS!

I am really excited to announce that MJGDS is beginning Tennis. Some of you may not even know that we have 2 tennis courts here on campus. It has been a tough task for maintenance and myself to get these courts functional again, but they are now ready.

Students may bring in their own tennis racquet from home if they have one. We have plenty of very nice, new tennis racquets here at MJGDS, if your child does not have one already. We will be starting small with learning groundstrokes, topspin, backspin, and footwork. We will then progress into overheads, volleys, and maybe even serving depending on the age group. This is my first time EVER teaching tennis and I couldn’t be more excited. I first learned tennis in a college class I had to take and fell in love with the game. I am an avid golfer and really enjoy solo sports, so tennis was a perfect fit for me. I could get endless amounts of exercise that golf could not give me.

In the beginning of the school year we play a lot of team sports and activities trying to develop teamwork amongst the classes. Toward the end of the school year we branch out into more personal fitness sports and activities trying to develop a sense of personal achievement and self-esteem. This is so important for a child’s inner soul. They feel good when they know that they can do it on their own.

It may even be possible, at some point, to introduce Tennis as a middle school sport here at MJGDS. Individual players or doubles teams could play against other students from local, private middle schools. Only time will tell. In the mean time you can find our classes on the courts. GO MARLINS!

We are currently covering jump rope activities and perfecting our skills for Jump Rope for Heart on March 14. I always wonder when I’m teaching my lessons, about how to make this experience fun for all students. Because fun is what keeps us engaged, involved, and content with whatever activity is at hand. I keep it fun by challenging students to try new tricks, skills, and by creating excitement among the class and jumping rope myself. How long can I keep it fun, new, and interesting? Are my teaching traits skewed toward the younger classes?
My lessons have really challenged me in my Kindergarten and 1st Grader classes recently. I may be asking too much of myself, but I want them to get the hang of jumping, rhythym, and developing extra hand-eye coordination skills. I find myself constantly turning a rope for them as they learn to time their jumps and focus. How much is too much? They will need to develop these skills on their own, but I want them to be able to rely on me to develop success as well. Should I place students into groups dependent on their skills to foster greater development of these skills? (Upper, Middle, Lower)
As I reflect on last week’s lesson plans, I want to try to teach more independent skills this week, and offer more individual help and practice to those that need it. I will foster more personal learning time and shy away from the group activities and practices. The children will learn from their coach, classmates, and themselves. They will develop self esteem by attempting and achieving a new skill over the course of the next 3 weeks, possibly a skill they never learned before. And they will have fun doing it.

PE is in full-motion with Soccer being the current sport. We are engaged in full-field games and play on different teams with different players every PE class. This allows for new team and teammate dynamics every PE period. Soccer will run for another week and then we will transfer into jumprope activities.
Jump Rope for Heart is approaching and will be held on Wednesday, March 14. Each class will be training for the BIG DAY! We will have approximately 3 weeks of practice and training to build ourselves up to jump our hardest on March 14th. I love this time of year and jumprope is one of my favorite activities to demonstrate for our classes (maybe because I’m really good at it). The exercise attained from 40 minutes of jumprope activities is unparalleled by any of our other sports or games throughout the year.
There is a special milestone earned for any students that can jump 100 times continuously without stopping. They earn the rank of being in the Century Club and have their name posted on my bulletin board (Wall of Fame). Last year we had 32 kids (Grades 2-8) earn their name on the list. This year I hope we get more!

Pedometers are portable, electronic devices that measure a person’s steps taken. They may also measure distance, and calories. Used originally by sports and physical fitness enthusiasts, pedometers are now becoming popular as an everyday exercise measurer and motivator. A total of 10,000 steps per day (or 5 miles) is the general benchmark for an active lifestyle. We will measure our steps during our PE periods in December and publish those results either in blogs or on our website. This program is designed to establish enthusiasm and positive attitudes to ensure ongoing, healthy physical activity outside the school walls. It is also a way to introduce 21st century learning and Physical Education

Hockey is in full swing for grades 3-8. We have organized teams, selected team names, and covered all the rules. We are now playing our hockey “season” which will bring us near the end of September. After the season we will play the Kiddish Cup playoffs. That will determine our winning teams for each grade. This is a really exciting way to start off the year and it helps to develop teamwork amongst the children. I have purchased shin guards for the children this year due to amount of shin injuries we had last year. There have been almost no injuries in hockey, which is a testament to our new protection. Please send your children in sneakers on PE days as they really need them to be successful. Thanks for your support!! Go Marlins!!

I am so excited to be back for my 2nd year here at MJGDS! So much has changed from this year to last. We developed a sports program, extended PE class time to 40 minutes from 30, and are in the process of acquiring some electronics to really make our classes have the 21st century approach.

Girls Volleyball is our first sport of the season and I’m looking forward to coaching our team and developing all our young talent. We are building this program so our expectations are to learn, grow as a team, and to have fun. Our first game is on September 21st against Hendricks Methodist Day School. All games and practices will be held after school. There will be more info to come, but feel free to send me an email if you want: jared.goldman@mjgds.org.

I wanted to put out some info on my grading system so everyone is aware of how all of our students actually get their grades. All of our Kindergarten through 8th graders are graded the same way currently. There are a total of 3 pts per class to earn. 2 points are earned for participation in each PE class and 1 point is earned for sportmanship. Sportsmanship is defined as respect for others in our activity and being a good winner/loser depending on the situation. Students should show courage, persistence, and self-control when dealing with others. I constantly stress this in class and it stretches across all borders into daily youth and adult life.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you feel the need. Email is the best way because I don’t have an office with a telephone. Let’s make it a great year! Go Marlins!