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Teacher Name:
Connnie
Douglas
Phone:
(413)
584-5011
Email:
cdouglas@hadleyschools.org
Courses:
Greetings!
I would like to take
this opportunity to let you know about the physical education program at Hadley
Elementary School:
One of my primary goals as a physical educator is to teach every child-from the
physically gifted to the physically challenged-how and why they should keep
themselves healthy and fit throughout their lifetime. In our physical education
program, we provide structural learning experiences that will teach children
physical activities to increase their physical competence, health-related
fitness, self-esteem and joy of movement. Here's how we achieve that goal:
(1) Our physical education curriculum includes a balance of skills, concepts,
game activities, rhythms and dance experiences designed to enhance the physical,
mental, and emotional development of every child.
(2) We provide experiences that encourage children to question, integrate,
analyze, communicate, apply academic concepts, and gain a wide multi-cultural
view of the world through doing and understanding physical activity in many
forms.
(3) Throughout the year we teach activities that allow children the opportunity
to work together to improve social responsibility and cooperation. These
activities also help children develop a positive self-concept.
(4) Fitness education and assessment is used as a part of the ongoing process of
helping children understand, improve, maintain and enjoy an optimal level of
health and well being.
(5) Finally, health and wellness concepts are taught throughout the year.
Integrating these concepts into daily lessons of our classes will encourage
children to be active outside of class in safe and healthy ways.
I would like to invite you to come and visit our physical education class.
Encourage your child to practice physical activity at home. Spend time doing
physical activity with your child. By working together to encourage fitness, I
am certain we will be able to help your children enjoy a lifetime of physical
activity! I welcome your support.
Sincerely,
Ms. Douglas
Hadley Elementary School Physical Education Teacher
584-5011
Extra/Activities:
Activities
offered are: Movement education, stunts and tumbling, ultimate Frisbee, bowling,
manipulative skills, snowshoeing, FITNESSGRAM, ball skills, cooperative games,
soccer, basketball, golf, badminton, volleyball, floor hockey, project
adventure, rhythms and movement, and flag football.
Other:
Ms. Douglas tidbits:
B.A.-Physical Education, California State University Chico, 1986.
M.Ed.-Secondary Education, Westfield State College, 1996.
CURRENT NEWS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION!
Dear Parents and Students:
We will be starting the FITNESSGRAM physical fitness
assessment program within the next few weeks. As I said in my
newsletter, this assessment program will offer your child a
better idea of their personal fitness level. When the students
have completed the program, I will send home a FITNESSGRAM
report, which generates highly personalized output and gives
recommendations and feedback. I think your child will really
enjoy this program!
What are we assessing?
Test
Item Primary Fitness Component
Measured:
1) The
PACER Aerobic capacity
(progressive aerobic
endurance run)
2)
Curl-ups Abdominal strength and
endurance
3) Back-saver
sit and reach Lower back/hamstring flexibility
4) Trunk lift Trunk extensor
Strength and flexibility
5) Push-ups
Upper body strength/endurance
What is Physical Fitness?
Being physically fit means having the energy and strength to
perform daily activities vigorously and alertly without
getting "run down," and to have energy left over to enjoy
leisure-time activities or meet emergency demands. When you
are physically fit, your heart, lungs and muscles are strong
and your body is firm and flexible.
Physical fitness will help you control your weight and cope
with stress. You'll feel and look better and that often means
success in anything you want to do, such as work, sports,
dance, and other recreational activities. You may even do
better in school. Getting in shape is important for your
future. You'll be healthier both now and as an adult, and that
means a more enjoyable and active life. Fitness is feeling
GREAT!
How do you measure Physical Fitness?
Physical fitness can be broken down into three main parts:
endurance, strength and flexibility. Each one
can be measured and there are specific exercises to improve
each area:
ENDURANCE is the ability to keep moving for
long periods of time. There are two types of endurance:
Cardiorespiratory endurance means that your heart and lungs
are able to supply your muscles with lots of oxygen and
nutrients. Muscular endurance means that your muscles are
strong enough to move for long periods of time. WHY
BUILD ENDURANCE? With high levels of endurance you
have more energy and are able to play harder and longer during
sports or games. You don't get out of breath easily and your
muscles are firm. When your heart and lungs are in good shape
you're healthier and less likely to develop some forms of
disease. Also, doing "aerobic" exercises burns extra calories
and helps keep your weight under control.
STRENGTH is how much force you can exert with
your muscles. WHY BUILD STRENGTH? When you
are strong you don't need to rely on others to do the "heavy"
work and you are less likely to injure your muscles. You can
do things like lift your body weight and move heavy objects.
Hard jobs become easier and you'll also do better in sports,
games and other activities.
FLEXIBILITY means that you can move your
muscles and joints through their "full range of motion."
Stretching exercises increase flexibility. WHY BUILD
FLEXIBILITY? When your muscles are flexible you can
reach, bend and stretch more easily. You are less likely to
injure your muscles and joints. Stretching helps decrease
tension and stress, and makes your body feel good.
Please call me if you have any
questions. Together, we can inspire our children to learn,
adopt, and maintain health and fitness habits to last a
lifetime.
Connie Douglas
Elementary Physical Education
584-5011
FITNESSGRAM INFORMATION
FROM THE COOPER INSTITUTE:
"Fitness
testing is an essential element of any health-related physical
activity program. It establishes a baseline from which
students can set goals and check progress. It also allows
students to experience and better understand the components of
health-related fitness.
Some tests place more emphasis on skill- or sport-related
fitness, such as speed measured by an individual's 100-meter
dash time. These tests compare students to other students,
leading many children who are actually healthy to perceive
themselves as unfit. Likewise, some students who practice
unhealthy behaviors can still achieve good scores (for
example, if they've matured physically at a relatively early
age), giving them a false picture of their present and future
health and fitness.
FITNESSGRAM is a more effective fitness test for three
reasons. First, it compares scores to carefully researched and
developed health standards, rather than to national averages.
By using these standards, called Healthy Fitness Zones, the
test administrator knows without a doubt whether a child meets
the minimum recommendation for being fit on each test item.
Second, it emphasizes measures of health-related physical
fitness instead of the performance of sport-related skills.
Third, it goes beyond measuring fitness to recommend physical
activity program options that will help students make it into
the Healthy Fitness Zones for those areas where they need
improvement.
FITNESSGRAM was the first health-related fitness test to use
this superior method of testing and measuring results, and
it's been used widely for nearly 15 years. The test was
developed exclusively by the Cooper Institute for Aerobics
Research, which means it's based on a rock-solid foundation of
fitness knowledge."
Great website on physical activity for children from
Health Canada!
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/paguide/child_youth/children/index.html
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