Physical Education
About Madrona Physical Education
What does Madrona PE look like?
PE in most schools looks the same. Calisthenics, running, dodgeball, kickball, and basketball are 5 words that come to my mind when I think about what the media perceives PE to be all about. Here at Madrona you will see some of these things, but if you take a closer look, you will find that our students do much more than games. While fitness is definitely a component of our curriculum, so is skill attainment. Therefore, you will see students participating in a wide range of team and individual sports as well as recreational activities.
What is our goal?
Our goal is 2-fold. First, we strive to bring our students up to a level of physical fitness that is above the national average. The fact is that many children in this country are becoming ever more sedentary and most of them are deemed physically unhealthy. This can lead to a lifetime of health problems and the way we see it, it is our responsibility to set our students up with a solid foundation at this critical age. This leads us to our 2nd goal: skill attainment. Our 2nd goal is to introduce all students to a wide-range of physical activities and help them to become proficient in as many skills as possible. When they leave Madrona, they will leave with a good set of skills so that they have many options on how to stay active.
Where are we?
As specified in our goal statement, most students in this country are unhealthy. While there are many factors in determining how accurate fitness testing is, it is easy for us to see the wide-range of skill sets within 1 class as well as the wide-range of fitness levels. Our data indicates that it is common for there to only be a handful of students within each class who rank high on the national fitness standards. The rest of our students are at or well below the national average. Again, with the current trends in this country, these stats are alarming and a big part of it is up to us to steer our students in the right direction.
Where do we want to be?
It is easy to say we want all of our students to be above average and high on the national standards charts. But in reality, there are no quick fixes to this problem. The hard truth is that PE 2 days a week for 40-45 minutes at a time is NOT going to cut it. Therefore, we decided that we would like to focus on getting our students more active throughout the day. Small steps here and there DO add up and with these lifestyle changes will come the physical changes that are reflected during fitness testing.
How can you help?
We believe that kids generally reflect the values and beliefs of their parents/guardians. If you value your physical health and MAKE time to exercise, the likelihood of your children doing the same is HIGH. We understand that there are circumstances which may prevent you from being able to exercise around your children, so please make sure you are talking with them about what they are learning in PE, just like what they’re learning in the rest of their classes! Ask them about our morning running club and how many laps they do each day. Have them show you their running card. Encourage them to MOVE and go OUTSIDE! Kids are spending more and more time nowadays in front of the TV/computer and so we are encouraging our students to be creative in ways they incorporate physical activity to their daily lives (e.g. push-ups and sit-ups during TV commercial breaks).
Remember, those who don’t make time for exercise will eventually need to make time for illness!
James Roach & Tigran Davtyan
PE Specialists
Madrona Elementary
Physical Education Expectations
At Madrona, we expect our students to be their BEST. By "best," we encourage students to BEHAVE properly, give appropriate EFFORT, participate SAFELY and actively engage in TEAMS. If a student is found to not be doing their best in any 1 of these 4 categories, the following discipline procedures will be put into action:
- 1st Offense = Warning
- 2nd Offense = Time Out
- 3rd Offense = Referral
In conjunction with our BEST expectations, the following PE Rules are meant to guide students in good decision making:
- Enter and Exit in a straight, quiet line and ready to listen for directions.
- Stop, Look & Listen when you hear the signal:
(signal = freeze, whistle, music, etc.)
- Always try YOUR best (100%), all day, every day!
- Show good sportsmanship by playing fairly, following the friendship rules, being honest and cooperating.
- Keep the noise level appropriate for the activity:
Good Noise = encouraging others
Bad Noise = screeching and screaming
- Respect others by working in self space, being helpful, courteous, kind and keeping your hands to yourself.
- Treat equipment like it is your own and for its purpose.