Preparing for the School Year

Greetings! My name is Ed Kupiec, and this is my first issue as a secondary editor. I am excited to be involved with PELinks4U. As the summer winds down, I am sure that most of you have been busy making preparations for the start of a new school year, and the enthusiasm and excitement it brings. I also hope you have found a great deal of time to relax, and have taken time for your hobbies and activities.

For this month's theme, "Preparing for the New School Year," we have collected some simple tips regarding what fellow teachers have done, or are doing, to start the new school year off on the right foot. There are also some great links and a motivating article.

As you prepare for your school year, we hope you are able to take advantage of some of these tips, or those that are similar. Enjoy the remainder of your summer, and best wishes for a successful start to the school year.

Ed Kupiec
Secondary Section Editor

These suggestions were provided by Mandy Fisher, Wellwood Middle School, Fayetteville, NY

	Use Microsoft Power Point to create a slide show of expectations, procedures, routines, etc.
	Introduce the technologies that students will be using (HR monitors, pedometers, etc.) so that you do not need to sacrifice instructional time when you use them.
	Meet with the other teachers in the building, before classes start, to map out the school year and determine equipment needs and sharing.
	Make sure that your equipment rooms are cleaned and inventoried so that you can find just what you need, when you need it.

A Lesson Learned from Little League
This article, by Dave Zimmer, highlights what truly matters in sports - the act of sportsmanship. Although the article refers to coaching, and several of us are, good coaching is really teaching. Taking this type of attitude into the start of the school year can only result in positive outcomes. Enjoy!

The new school year brings many opportunities to renew our enthusiasm and passion for teaching. Heading into the school year we can:

	Join/become more involved with our professional organizations.
	Review our professional journals for teaching tips and lesson ideas.
	Organize our professional development plans for the year.
	Begin work on a new unit, curriculum project, or a grant proposal.
	Attend a speaker or physical education conference.

First Day Mania - After a summer of sleeping in or doing things on your time, the alarm bell announcing that first day of school can be a rude awakening. Whether you're an anxious new freshman or a confident senior, heading back to school signals a time of transition: new classes, new teachers, new schedules, and a new social scene.

Dread it or love it, you gotta go to school. Here are some ways to make the transition from summer to school a little easier. - source: site

After School for America's Teens - A very informative PDF document that factually explains the importance of unsupervised teens being involved in good after-school activities.

These tips are provided by the teachers at Eagle Hill Middle School, Manlius, NY.

	Create a spreadsheet of your locks, combinations, and serial numbers. When you have a "lost" lock, you can easily find out who it belongs to with a simple search command.
	Create a "booklet" of important information, rubrics, expectations, study guides, websites, etc., for your students so that they always have the information available.
	Review your planbook, reflect on lessons from the previous school year, and make changes or add in new activities.
	Exchange ideas with fellow colleagues from other school districts.
	Try to start out each year with a fresh outlook, even if your roster contains students who may have been "difficult" last year.
	Make sure your department webpage is updated, or create a new page.

NASPE's School Physical Education Checkup
Use this checklist to help you evaluate your program, both where it is solid and where it could use some improvement.

Back to School Fitness Tips
This article, written by Katherine Switzer in 2004 for the Cool Running website, is still applicable in 2005. She gives great suggestions on what parents can do to get their children active.

Back to School 2003
This article reviews the commitment of the New Jersey State Education Department to improving health and physical education programs in 2003. Perhaps other states can be encouraged to follow.

Back to School Shape Up Challenge
This article provides tips for parents to get their children moving. Tips could be sent home to parents in a back-to-school letter.

Safe driving tips for teens heading back-to-school
"When 'summer break' ends, thousands of college students will be driving back-to-school and an urgent plea to be safe on America's highways is being issued. Teenage drivers are involved in fatal crashes at twice the rate of drivers overall, and have a fatality rate four times that of drivers ages 25 to 69. Poor vehicle maintenance is responsible for five percent of road accidents involving 2,600 deaths and 100,000 disabling injuries each year." Read this whole press release dated July 26, 2005.

National Institute on Drug Abuse - NIDA Goes Back to School is your source of FREE information about the latest science-based drug abuse publications and teaching materials. Students, need to know the science behind drug abuse? Check out this site and also log on to their special teen site, teens.drugabuse.gov. - source: site

Bidis Are More Dangerous Than Cigarettes
"Dr. Greene, my daughter has started smoking a new kind of chocolate cigarette called a "bidi." She assures me they are all natural and not harmful at all. She says they contain no drugs. Do you know about them? Are bidis safe? She also smokes vanilla and strawberry bidis." Read the answer to these questions. See also this very informative Tobacco Basics.
Concerned Parent
San Francisco, California

The Dangers of Inhaled Aerosols or Huffing
"I am living every parent's nightmare -- my son Keith is dead. Dr. Greene, I am fighting a battle. It's a battle to teach as many people as I can about what is known as "huffing" -- inhaling of aerosol products, of any kind, from a plastic bag. It's really frightening because aerosol is so accessible to kids. In Kinnelon it is the #1 "drug" problem that we are facing. Yet not one adult who I have encountered has any idea about huffing. I don't want any family to suffer the agony of losing a child. Help me save even one life!" Read this important information on 'huffing.'
Margaret Wagner, Kinnelon

Marijuana: Facts for Teens ( plus teachers & parents) - A great list of questions set as links, so click the link to receive informative information. Also see Marijuana & Kids: Back-to-School Fact Sheet.

'Back to School' Teen Health Kit for Parents
While you’re helping your teen get organized for the school year ahead, take a few minutes to review these teen-health issues. Here you’ll find the most common threats to a teen's well-being, and what you can do to help your teen stay healthy and drug-free. - source: site

Well... not really, but the editorial from fellow editor Isobel Kleinman in 2004's August/September issue is really excellent. You will find this editorial below.

I hope this finds you winding down, enjoying the change of pace, the weather, your freedom from bells, time for yourself and, nevertheless, thinking about the coming year and how to improve on the one that has just passed. If you are serious about looking to improve, you must identify the issues, understand and explain why change is necessary and have some thoughts about solutions. Given the emotional distance that summer brings, you might find problem solving easier than you think. Let’s see if I can get you started.

	Kids prefer to sit out – why, what can we do about it?
	Should we reevaluate the dress code?
	Would we profit from explaining the reason for a dress code to the kids?
	How can we reduce departmental inconsistencies?
	How can we eliminate locker room problems?
	How can we get rid of the feeling of staleness?
	We need something new, but what?
	How can our program respond to the trends and problems of the day?
	How should be respond to poor sportsmanship, bad language, and bullying?
	How can we develop and promote student leadership?

Draw up a student contract that includes expectations for attendance, preparation, participation, excuses – medical or parental –and grading policy. Post it on the web, distribute it in the summer mailing, or go over it the first day and have parents sign it.

Think about the kid's issues. Find ways to help or empathize. These were my students:

	They hated having so little time to dress.
	They liked to learn, but they also wanted to have fun.
	They didn’t like feeling belittled or intimidated by classmates (or teachers).
	They liked to do more than play games and compete.
	They wanted a sense of self worth.
	They wanted to feel important to classmates and their teacher.
	They wanted to have access to equipment the minute they came to class.

Don’t underestimate the need to begin the year with good organization.

	Locker room organization and safety really do count! If you don’t believe me read, Too Dangerous to Teach, a non-fiction novel about a physical education teacher. It will give you insight into locker room problems (both funny and infuriating).
	Kids need to lock things securely. When they forget combinations, or put locks on a wrong locker, they will need your help.
	Keep a good filing system, one for their name, one for the serial number on their lock, and one for the locker, and keep them in class sets until you are able to file them.
	Make sure the kids fill them out properly, and that they also record the information in something they are likely to have with them daily. (Memo pad, etc.)
	Set up a central Lost and Found. Collect pictures to post on your bulletin board that synchronize with your unit.
	Identify students who need help, and those who can give it.
	Get students used to your class routine early on:
	- What to do out of the locker room - How to take and return equipment - Attendance procedures - How to conclude each lesson
	Think about your responses to the typical negative things kids do, and instead of doing the usual (giving zeros, detention, calling home, removing kids from activity and/or class) come up with unique ways to turn them around.
	- Try using praise when you’re not angry, then build on that relationship - Admit to needing help and put a difficult kid in charge of something. - Conspire with parents to withhold Xmas presents if the kids don’t turn around. - Remove the problem by stopping the student from playing until he or she apologizes to you and the class. - Have the student write a report on what they should have done. - Ask colleagues to share the ploys they used successfully for changing bad situations.

Hope this has helped and that you have had a great summer.

Isobel Kleinman
Secondary Section Editor