Monday, April 18, 2011

Speed Minton Tournaments, Mile Runs, and Regional Track!

What a busy week we have in store! We'll start our week with our Speed Minton Tournaments for 1st through 4th graders. Using an advancement technique I learned from friends who played handball in New York City, students will have the opportunity to play in the class "championship" of Speed Minton. In this system winning individuals move up the ladder to the coveted "A" court, which has to be won to be kept. It is an exciting way to allow the students to experience competition without elimination! Ask your child who spent the most time on "A" court in his or her class!

We will also be completing the mile run this week for grades 2 and 4, since we were displaced last week by the District Track meet on our Track! On Thursday, I will be traveling to Naples with 23 of our Varsity Track athletes for the Regional Track meet. Our girls team were District runners-up and we hope to see great success both on the track and in the field on Thursday! Go Chargers!

As for the remainder of the week - ECC will continue to work on balance through the use of stations in the mini-gym. Kindergarteners will be treated to both group cooperative games and individual class activities. Make-ups for the Presidential Fitness Test will also be completed for 3rd and 4th graders.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Celebrate the Arts!

This week, with Celebrate the Arts, some of our classes will be affected. Therefore, we'll use the week to finish up several units. First, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders will be completing their fitness testing - including running the mile. Third graders will run on Tuesday, second and fourth on Thursday.

First through fourth graders will also be completing their Speed Minton unit. Students will learn to play games and each class will participate in a tournament to find the champions for each grade level. Its sure to be a fun week for all!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Field Day and Speed Minton!

On Tuesday, April 5th, the Lower Division students will participate in Field Day from 10-11:30 on the Football field. We are excited to be bringing back some of our favorite games, including at least one that should be new for everyone - can't tell you what it is, you'll have to be surprised tomorrow! We will also be allowing those students who were not able to run the mile at the track meet to run in front of this large crowd. It is sure to be an action packed day!

This week we will also be introducing Speed Minton, a net-less variation of Badminton. Students will have the opportunity to build upon racquet skills from previous units - this is a test, do you know which unit? As always, fitness and sportsmanship will continue to guide our discussions, warm-ups, and influence our daily lessons.