This week I focused on Basketball skills for the Grade 1s and 2s: Dribbling, Passing, Shooting. Some of the drills included a relay race and the kids learned that when they get excited, they lose control of the ball! The trick is to stay calm. Next week we'll implement our skills in game play where we can focus on teamwork. 

For the Kindies, we discussed modes of Transportation and how people from all over the world used the same means to get from A to B. Land: Cars, trucks, trains, motorcyles etc... Air: Planes, Rockets, Drones, Hot Air Balloons and Sea: Speed Boats, Sail boats, Ships, submarines etc... We played various tag games while the children got to mimic these various modes of transport. 

Pictured above was a balancing course I created! There was a pile of beams by the shed that I figured I'd put to good use. It was an opportunity for the kids to practice balance. Also gives them something else to do at recess : )

Something I've observed is the kids desire to tattle tale. I'm trying to encourage them to solve their conflicts on their own by using the structure of "The Conflict Resolution Corner." ie) I feel sad because....., sorry I did X, I won't do it again...shake hands and be done with it. It teaches them to communicate their feelings in a productive way and solve their conflicts independently. Some have really taken to it. Still working on it with some others. We'll get there!

This week the focus was on jump rope. We discussed Goals and each student (grade 1 and 2) chose a goal for Friday. Charlotte's goal was to skip 20 consecutive times by Friday but yesterday she did 118! Hunter couldn't do one skip on day 1 but by Thursday, had completed 5 skips. Jordan was thrilled he could do 2! The focus was on their own personal victories and not worry about comparing with other kids. It was fun to see their attitudes change. On day 1: "Ugh, I don't want to skip....it's boring (AKA, I don't know how). By Day 3, they couldn't wait to get started because their confidence was building.
For the JKs and SKs we worked on the skills that will be useful when trying to skip. Jumping and rope turning. There is a lot involved with learning to jump rope so this will take some time but they are up for the challenge : )

This week, we added onto our Healthy Bodies discussion by going over the importance of sleep.
Game: Pick a card, any card! "10 to 12 hours sleep" means lots of energy therefore 10 sprints.
"7 to 9 hours" isn't quite enough sleep so just 4 sprints. "0 sleep = ZOMBIE..just one sprint, giving their best zombie impression.
We've begun the unit in Jump Rope. The intention was to start yesterday but the mass of knotted ropes wouldn't allow it. I tasked the grade 1s and 2s with setting the skipping ropes free! It was an opportunity to discuss Focus, Concentration, Teamwork, Patience and not giving up. All qualities required for success in life. Lucky kids in the last class were able to enjoy the fruits of the previous classes' labour and actually skip. One student, couldn't skip once at the beginning of class but skipped 4 consecutive times! I tried to post the video of this but the file was too long : (
We'll continue developing these skills over the next while. Skipping is great for the legs, heart, lungs and agility.

This week we talked about whole foods vs packaged food.
Whole Foods come from Plants (and Walmart, according to the kids) and contain just one ingredient. "Grapes"  Packaged foods come from a factory and have a lllllong list of ingredients....some of them very difficult to pronounce, even for adults. Whole Foods have a short shelf life and Packaged Foods have a long one. Whole Foods contribute to Healthy Bodies! Packaged foods can still be eaten as long as enough whole foods are consumed.
Tag Game: "Whole Foods and Processed Foods"
Two teams are formed: 1. Whole Foods and 2. Processed Foods
The Whole Foods (like Cops) count to 15 in "jail." The Processed Foods (Robbers) scatter.
The Whole Foods try and tag the Processed foods. Once tagged the Processed foods must surrender and allow the Whole Foods cops to put pretend handcuffs on them while they gently bring them to "Jail."
The kids have fun, got lots of exercise, learned about contributing factors to a healthy body and realized the importance of following the rules. If we all follow the rules, we all have fun. If some of us don't, it creates conflict with other students. All great lessons to learn!

Due to the heat advisory, we did the Terry Fox run indoors which was a bit crowded but students had fun nonetheless. We raised nearly $700 too! Thank you to all of you for your contribution. Several students indicated they had friends/family with cancer and were pleased to learn that their contribution would go toward cancer research to help their loved ones.
Also, in PYP gym, we had fun with obstacle courses, including walking along the bench. The scary one was going backwards! I'm testing the grade 1s and 2s for various fitness/strength activities and this week we focused on leg strength in the "stand up, sit down" test. I'm hoping to develop their strength over the next couple of months so we can see an improvement in a re-test.

We did lots of cool stuff in gym class this week! We worked on sending and receiving with basketballs. We explored different ways of moving on a scooter. And when we were jogging to music, some students decided it would be fun to make a train!
We also discussed who was Terry Fox and why he is so special. Please bring in your twoonies for the Twoonies for Terry campaign by Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon is the Terry Fox Run.

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The afternoon of Tuesday Sept. 26th, 2017 all students at St. Jude’s Academy will be taking part in the annual Terry Fox School Run.

Canada’s 150th anniversary year offers us the opportunity to celebrate our country and Terry at the same time this September! Students will have the opportunity to discuss the heroic efforts of Terry over the next week and raise much needed funds for cancer research.   Through their participation in the annual School Run, we hope that our students will view themselves as positive agents of change giving the best of themselves to Canada, just like Terry did.

Twoonies for Terry!  Students are asked to bring in twoonies however any amount of donation is greatly appreciated. Cheques and cash will both be accepted. Please make any cheques payable to The Terry Fox Foundation. All monies raised will be forwarded to The Terry Fox Foundation. Those students unable to bring in donations are welcome to participate in the event as well.

Tell your child to bring the donations to their homeroom teacher. Donations will be accepted until Tuesday Sept. 26^th, 2017.

On Sept. 26^th please make sure your child is dressed in gym attire, including outdoor running shoes. Also pack a hat, water bottle and put on sunscreen.

We are very pleased to be a part of this year’s Terry Fox Event as we encourage our students to develop a sense of volunteerism and goodwill, while celebrating school spirit. Thank you in advance for your support!

Sincerely,

Melanie Jans, St. Jude’s Academy PYP Physed. Teacher