School Year in Video Review: 2019/2020

2nd Grade with School Spirit doing the MUSTANG Spell Out!!

8th grader setting Crate Climb record of 15 crates!  ALMOST got 16 crates!

Kindergarteners first time on the climbing wall

5th graders team building

2nd grade climbing and tumbling

Parachute Week

Last week, elementary participated in a variety of parachute activities.  This is by far one of their favorite P.E. activities.  They learn to follow directions and work as a team.  They made a tent, a mountain, waves, and popped popcorn with the parachute!  What a fun week!  Below are some pictures of student's in action.

Team Building Unit

Our middle school student's have been participating in team building activities.  This was our focus during the month of November.  We did various challenges such as a Hula Hut activity, River Crossing, and Treasure Island challenge.  The goal of this unit was for student's to work cooperatively with each other in various challenges that required both strategy and team work.  Overall, it was a great success and we are so proud of how MLK student's worked together throughout the challenges.

Equity in P.E. at MLK

Our mission in physical education at MLK is to provide an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all our student's.  We strive to raise the level of achievement for everyone.  We focus our classroom objectives on being inclusive of each student to help them in motor development, physical fitness and health, social collaboration, teamwork, and sportsmanship.  Below is a candid moment of some of our kindergarten student's during a "Workout Wednesday" walk on our school track.  We hope their display of friendship is contagious.

Middle School "Student-Led" Unit Days

Our middle school student's started unit days this week!
To start the year, here are the sport's each grade is participating in:

5th grade: rugby
6th grade: soccer
7th grade: ultimate frisbee
8th grade: flag football


Our middle school student's are in charge of their own learning during unit days. We call this "student-led" learning. We have found that our student's really take ownership in being responsible for their team.  We have so many talented leaders that it was only natural to allow them to shine in designated roles with their peers.

Teams/Roles
Student's are assigned teams (Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, Sky, Wolves, Bears) As P.E. teacher's, we assign different coach's, equipment manager's, and publicist's for each unit day.

Coach's:
Our coach's are responsible for keeping their team on track/organizing their team and practicing the skills/drills for the day. The P.E. teacher's give each coach a "game plan" and it is up to the student coach's to lead their teams.

Equipment Manager's:
Our equipment manager's are responsible for bringing necessary equipment outside to the field for their team and bring it back in after class.

Publicist's:
Our publicist's also play an important role on unit days. They are the "sports reporters." Student's who are assigned to be the publicist's write a brief report about how their team did during the skills/game play for the day. They write down 2-3 sentences about how their team did and what they can improve on for next time. Below are some photos of our student's in action on Day 1!

6th grade working on a passing drill

7th Grade working on frisbee throwing/catching

8th grade "team talk" before starting their flag football practice

The publicist's busy writing their team report

5th grade publicist game report example

Welcome Back!

Welcome back! We are excited to get the school year started! We have had a busy first couple of weeks. Middle school has been completing their Fitnessgram pre-test in class. This includes the sit-up test, push-up test, Pacer, and sit-and-reach test. Our goal is for student's to work towards improving their individual score throughout the school year. Student's grades 5-8 have fitness every other day, where we focus on improving cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and strength, as well as flexibility with daily stretches. Our elementary student's, grades K-3, have been working on locomotor skills and spacial awareness. We have also been practicing stretches and exercises. Ask your student to teach you an exercise or stretch they do in class! We will be learning and practicing many different motor skills throughout the year. We also focus on fitness every Wednesday with elementary. We have been using our wonderful outdoor track to get some fresh air and exercise! Visit our blog again soon for more updates throughout the school year!

Mindful Monday

Everyday, at the end of PE class for elementary and at the beginning of class for middle school, student's lay in savasana. It gives student's an opportunity to relax, reflect, and re-focus for class. It also helps them cool down and calm down. What a difference it has made in creating peaceful energy in our student's. With our lives moving so quickly, it gives student's a chance to pause for one minute of their day. Laying in savasanna is similar to "re-booting" a computer. It gives us a chance to rest and re-program our mind and body to take on new challenges we face throughout the day. According to a program called Mindful Schools, it has lead to zero detentions and higher attendance ratings at some schools. Click on the link to learn more: Mindfulness in School