This has been an exciting professional year for me. Helping school districts develop staff, and working with student teachers and their cooperating teachers, has been both enjoyable and enlightening. I came away feeling that we have many professionals with their hearts in the right place, and many sorely in need of validation.

It was great getting to address teachers in a state that mandates PE five days a week. Envious of their mandate and the facilities I saw, I congratulated the attendees, and as I did I got into my subject right away - the first ten precious minutes. Energized and enthusiastic, I communicated that the first minutes of class are precious though often wasted, and that when planned correctly will initiate an active learning opportunity where kids can improve their skills in a non threatening environment, while their teacher begins class functions; assembling, warming up, taking attendance, and more.

During questions and answers, I learned that my smiling, enthusiastic audience was a bunch of frustrated teachers who were motivated to make the beginning of class more valuable for their kids, but because they shared a teaching station with up to seven other teachers, felt compelled to do what was habitually done in their school. As I listened, I realized that for them to use what I'd suggested, they would have to change a culture.

Let me say this. When a school culture prevents teachers from setting up his or her own class, when it mandates that multiple classes meet in one area no matter what unit is being taught or where the class will eventually take place, when every student has to warm-up in the same way, when a host of teachers have to look on while a lead teacher leads the masses, I call that a waste of professional expertise, student time, and hands on opportunities, and think it is high time for CHANGE!

Over the summer, while you wind down and think, I suggest bringing back the child in you. Think of how you felt when you arrived in gym as a student. Think about your expectations. Think about how you or your friends were sometimes turned off before class even began because of the routine. Think about what you would have liked to happen after you rushed from the locker room in a change of clothes.

Now, put on your teacher's cap. Think about what you need to do at the beginning of class. Imagine a way to do it while your kids are moving. And, now that they are moving in your mind, think about what kind of moving they are doing. Imagine them using movement patterns and/or skills that they use during the unit they are learning. Give it a try. Make your imagination a reality. Make those first ten minutes precious.

Have a wonderful summer.

Isobel Kleinman
Secondary Section Editor

"For Teacher, By Teacher" Activity Plan Contest

Stretching Should Not Be Done First In Class. Stretching and warming up are two different things!

Lorraine Kreahling, ("New Thoughts about When Not to Stretch," NY Times, April 27, 2004) summarizes a six decade review which concludes that stretching does not prevent injury during exercise, and that in some cases the increased flexibility it promotes may actually impede performance. The article concludes that it is better to warm-up by preparing the body for activity, building strength, and improving balance. For optimal performance, the body should be neither loose nor tight.

Doctors say that stretching should NOT be done before warming up. If it is, it's like trying to mold cold clay. It doesn't stretch; it tears.

Dr. Lisa Bartoli tells patients that warm-ups should be in the activity they are about to engage in, and that it should be done at 50% their target intensity. The slow pace, she says, brings them safely through a functional range of motion.

Dr. Gloria Beim, the US track cycling team doctor recommends her group to do an aerobic warm-up followed by aggressive stretching. She believes that elasticity and flexibility helps athletes recover from injury. Other doctors worry that elasticity may actually make the body more vulnerable to injury.

Dr. Ian Shrier, a past president of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine says that those of us who stretch daily will perform better, but that stretching does not prevent injury and could even prove harmful. He echoed others who question the value of taking one's body beyond a normal range of movement during a warm-up.

Doctors worry that excessive joint flexibility can lead to inflammation and pain, and that extreme range of motion can be counterproductive because "ligaments, tough bands of fibrous tissue that connect bones or cartilage at a joint, do not regain their shape once they are stretched out. A loose joint can be like a loose door hinge that prevents the door from closing tightly." (When Does Flexibility Become Harmful? NY Times, March 24, 2004)

Peaceful Playgrounds - Free Assistance in Writing your Grant Application! PEP Grants are available before March of each year to improve your school. The Peaceful Playgrounds Program is the perfect solution to insure a successful government grant application. Sign up now and use our experience to write a winning application for your district.

Nike - Part of Nike's corporate giving focuses on programs that support youth and physical activity, and the positive effects of the two when they are truly in sync. Visit this site to find out more about this grant.

The Milagro Foundation - The purpose of this grant is to support non-profit, community-based organizations that work with at-risk and disadvantaged youth due to factors such as poor health, illiteracy or poor educational and cultural opportunities. Visit this site to find out more.

Carol M. White Physical Education Program - From the U.S. Dept of Education. OSDFS will award grants under this competition to local educational agencies and community-based organizations to initiate, expand, or improve physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in one or more grades from kindergarten through 12th grade in order to help students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education.

See MAD HOT BALLROOM. This popular documentary about fifth grade NYC public school kids who get involved in ballroom dancing is inspiring, fun to watch, uplifting, and a must see by anyone who teaches movement. And, if you are wondering if dance belongs in a physical education program this film makes clear that it does and why. (get some good buys on ebay)

The film makes us listen and watch as kids fumble through their discomforts, learn to get involved in the big picture, become committed to themselves and each other, and grow, not only as dance partners and ballroom dancers, but as ladies and gentlemen. It is a tribute to their teachers and something that will make you stand up and cheer, "Yes! That’s what teaching is all about!"

PLAY! Yes, you love teaching and your kids, but teaching is stressful. Spend the summer doing something frivolous and for heaven sakes, make time for the things you love.

GROW PROFESSIONALLY. Learn to dance. Try Cajun, Ballroom, Country, Square, Contra, Folk...anything that has structure...and stay with it until you are comfortable and having fun with it. Then come back and teach it to your kids.

Dancing contributes to fitness and is a wonderful social outlet. It should be in every physical education program but isn’t. Why? Here are some reasons.

	Our culture suggests that dancing is not the manly thing to do, though cultures in other countries don't suffer similar short sightedness, and classroom resistance to learning dance among males in our society is often regarded as a rite of passage. This makes teaching coed classes extremely difficult.
	Many physical educators are uncomfortable dancing, much less teaching dance, and since teachers rarely teach what they're uncomfortable with dance is avoided.
	Physical Education professional preparation programs have dropped the ball. Students graduate without feeling sufficiently versed in this area.
	There are few male role models willing to teach dance, and without male models many young men will not cooperate in this unit.
	Many secondary schools have all males in their departments.

Take up an individual sport you never played before, enjoy it and think about introducing it to your kids.

I remember as a kid growing up I couldn't wait for summer to come! Heck, I still can't wait for summer to come! I loved being done with school, and being able to be outside and enjoy the nice weather, and all the fun that "summertime" had to offer.

Something else I remember quite well was all the fun I had at summer camps. I usually would go to an overnight camp for one week, and then would do various other sport "day" camps during the summer. It was a lot of fun, kept me active, busy, and out of trouble! Here are some websites that offer great information if you are thinking about summer camps to share with your students, or for your own kids!

Also, for those kids who are older (secondary level or higher) why not think about being a camp counselor? You could make some money, make new friends, stay active and have FUN doing so! Check out the job opportunities at your local camps!

Kidscamps.com offers multiple options for camps. They have overnight camps, day camps, tours and other adventures, and even studying abroad. If you click on the link you can then find out information that is specific to your location! Check it out!

Mysummercamps.com is another website that provides various information on camps and other opportunities that are available over the summer time for kids to enjoy.

This article speaks about the importance of academic achievement in regard to high school students who are moving on to college sports, as well as professional sports. Many schools have a mandated policy that doesn't allow, or rather isn't supposed to allow, students to participate in sports if they have a grade point average (GPA) lower then 2.5 (which varies from school to school). The NCAA has recently put out a statement that will allow them to look more specifically at the academic backgrounds of prospective players.

NCAA Homes In on High Schools

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's governance bodies approved changes that will give association officials more authority to examine the academic credentials of prospective athletes who’ve attended high schools of questionable quality and rigor, and to look into the schools themselves. The new rules are designed to help the NCAA crack down on an apparent boom in the number of high school "diploma mills" that seem to help athletes who've struggled academically for years almost magically get their acts in gear and earn NCAA eligibility.

Also Thursday, the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors initiated a year-long study aimed at identifying ways to improve the academic performance of baseball players who fared comparatively poorly in March when the association, for the first time, began punishing sports teams based on members failure to proceed toward a degree. Read more...

Academics: Athletes honored for classroom achievement - The Central California Conference announced student athletes participating in spring sports who earned membership on the Academic All-Conference Team for achieving a 3.5 grade point average or better. See also, HSU Athletes Honored For Academics.

The 20006 WORLD CUP IS HERE!
Hello everyone, and yes it is that time again! Soccer, soccer, and more soccer! Enjoy the summer break by following the world cup that is taking place in Germany this June! Before school is out, make learning fun by going over all the 32 teams that will be participating. Follow online the current games for seeding that are happening! Learn about the athletes themselves, as well as how popular soccer (or football) is in other countries! Visit FIFA World Cup.

If you are interested in other school PE programs, here is one that Gregg Agena, a reader of pelinks4u submitted. The school is located in Hawaii, and Gregg offers information on their program and how it is set up. - Anjee

Mililani Middle School
Submitted by: Gregg Agena
Gregg_Agena/MILMID/HIDOE@notes.k12.hi.us

SCHOOL BACKGROUND

Mililani Middle School is home to approximately 1900 adolescents and is located in Hawaii. It was the first year-round, and multi-track school in Hawaii, which opened in 1998. We are a 3-track school with one track cycling in every 2 weeks. When one track enters, another track exits having completed a term of study. Our students cycle through six, 6-week terms with intersession between the terms. Each track has a 27 on, 13 off cycle, rotating six times during the duration of the school year.

MILILANI'S MIDDLE SCHOOL PE PROGRAM

Our mission for our PE program is to teach students to become successful movers with the skill, knowledge, and desire to become lifelong participants in physical activity. We offer a standards-based curriculum, and we want all students to be successful regardless of their experiences, abilities, or disabilities.

All students in our PE classes meet 4 times a week for 50 minutes. Students are required to take our exploratory wheel (wheel classes are classes outside of the "core" curriculum) classes every year. These classes are designed to teach basic movement forms, cognitive concepts, and promote physical fitness. We offer two wheel classes: 1). Team Sports wheel which focuses on basic object control skills, and how to apply those skills in a sport or modified game, and 2) the Physical Fitness wheel focuses on loco-motor skills, and aerobic and anaerobic activities to develop muscular strength and endurance. In addition to the required physical education classes, students can take 1-2 elective classes and be physically active 200-600 minutes per week.

Our PE elective classes are the most popular classes at our school, and 51% of our students sign up for one of the following classes as their first choice: Physical Fitness & Team Sports, Body Conditioning, Hawaiian/Polynesian Dance, and Recreational Leadership. Sixth graders can enroll in one elective PE class, and seventh and eighth graders can enroll in two classes.

In physical fitness & team sports students participate in conditioning exercises, modified games, and sports. This class is an extension of the team sports wheel where students learn more complex movement forms and cognitive concepts. Body conditioning is an elective for eighth graders that focuses on teaching the fundamentals and principles of resistance training.

In Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance students learn the basic movements to Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, and Mauri dancing. Finally, our recreational leadership program allows a select group of returning students to serve as role models for their peers, and provides services to our PE teachers, our school, and the Mililani community. Our recreational leaders assist their PE teachers with their class, and they lead our school-wide warm up and stretching routines. Also, they run our weekly mass conditioning days where we promote physical fitness with students participating in abdominal, cardiovascular, agility, and muscular strength exercises. Outside of their PE classes, they participate in a number of school and community activities.

Due to our multi-track schedule, recreational leaders assist teachers with moving in/out of their rooms at the end of every term. They participate in one campus beautification project and two community service projects that promote literacy and physical activity at our feeder elementary schools. Also, we host a parent day to promote physical activity for the whole family. This year we had our first annual Mililani Middle School leadership camp at Camp Erdman.

Attending the camp were our recreational leaders and members of our student council. Students participated in activities to build relationships, and develop characteristics of an effective leader. Our school leaders have worked together this year at our Mililani complex wellness fair and hoops for heart. We also have an adapted PE class to provide physical activity to our fully self-contained (FSC) students.

Our adapted PE (APE) class is held once a week for 50 minutes. For this population of students, we have an annual APE field day where the students participate in physical activities with their parents and teachers. This year we held a Mililani Complex APE day at Mililani `Ike elementary. The FSC students are also given the opportunity to compete in Special Olympics, and we had teams that participated in bocce ball and track and field. This year our department focused on assessment with the standards-based report card around the corner.

In our body conditioning classes, we are piloting the use of portfolios to collect evidence for students addressing standards. Students complete two written formative assessments, and one summative assessment every term (6 weeks). We use a video camera for students to assess movement forms, and we use technology to assess physical fitness. We integrate technology into our curriculum using pedometers, heart rate monitors, and the TriFIT system. From the data gathered, students set goals and design programs to help them improve or maintain their desired level of physical fitness.

We are blessed with an outstanding and supportive administration and registrar who see PE as a vital part of our school's overall curriculum, and they believe in educating the whole child. We want all of our students to develop positive attitudes toward PE, and to value being physically active.

Please feel free to contact me if there is anything you would like to know. - Mahalo, Gregg