February Update

February always seems to be one of the busiest months at school and this February has been no different.  I'll try to give you an update of the past few weeks.

In K-2 we have continued with our exploration of gymnastic balances and movements with most recently practicing a variety of rolls, including log rolls, egg rolls and forward rolls.  Before hitting the mats, we took time to discuss how to safely roll to make sure that none of us got hurt.  The students were very excited to show off their rolling skills!

 

The students also celebrated their 100th day of school just before Valentine's Day.  Even though we haven't had 100 days of PE yet, we still took the opportunity to celebrate.  We started off by running 100 laps (as a class) around the gym and then completed other fitness or skill related activities, such as jumping jacks, hula hoop twirls or basketball dribbles, until our class time was over.  The students really enjoyed this day and got some extra practice counting up to 100!

In grade 3-7, we have spent the last few weeks inside and outside playing some winter sports like, hockey, broomball and curling.  Hockey is definitely the most popular of the three, since so many of our students play hockey outside of school, however I find broomball to be a less aggressive alternative for our PE classes and still focuses on stick-handling skills, offensive and defensive strategies and teamwork.  Most of the students hadn't heard of broomball before, but caught on to the game quite quickly and seem to be really enjoying it.  I had an outdoor field dug out in the snow for us to play on, so it has been a great way for us to get outside in the winter as well.

 
This past Thursday, we were fortunate enough to have the Rocks & Rings program at our school to provide our grade 4-6 students with an introduction to the sport of curling.  The students learned about the sport through oral discussions and a variety of games and activities.  One of the most popular was the last game where the students all threw a rock and whoever landed it closest to the button won a prize.  The winner got to celebrate their victory by doing their happy dance for the group.  This session was a great opportunity for the students and a good lead in to our upcoming curling season for some of our grade 5 and 6 students.

Other things to take note of:

• Boys and Girls Basketball teams have playoff games this week Monday after school at Father Gorman and St. Mary's respectively and on Wednesday afternoon at Holy Rosary.
• The Grade 6/7 ski trip to Kinosoo Ridge is this coming Friday, March 1.
• Badminton season will be starting in early March for grade 7 students interested.  More information to follow shortly.