Still In Awe From The NYS AAPHERD Conference

The conference was such an amazing experience. Right when we arrived and checked in we started to hit presentations. It was great to sit in on the workshops and get a chance to mingle with professionals. Once again I felt a part of something much, much larger than me. It was a spiritual feeling being part of such a positive movement and being surrounded by such awesome people. I found myself drawn to a lot of health orientated presentations. The first one was called Drug… Wise….. Er….. It really caught my attention because drugs are prevalent in the secondary school setting to a profound extent. The presenter, Lori Reichel, was full of energy and very articulate. Another presentation I attended was finding your inner self and doing what you love. Chris Xaver, who is a local at TC3, did a great job describing the passion needed to really love ones job. She also talked about being responsible and empowering oneself. By the first night I was exhausted from the little sleep I had been getting in order to meet deadlines for my classes. It was even rough getting started the next day but once I started to hit more workshops I felt uplifted and energized. There was a social before the award ceremony were I was really able to pick some Cortland alumni’s brains and probe them alittle to understand more about the profession. The award ceremony was very elegant and emotional. I got a chance to meet some more really awesome people who I really look up to. To see people winning awards, making a difference in people’s lives, and giving inspiring speeches was something I am very grateful to witness. After the ceremony ended we went to a social that amazed me. There was professionals, future professionals, and professors all dancing, drinking, and having a good time. I really got loose on the dance floor and was able to let it all out and have fun. The next morning we packed it up and went home.

Pre-K play!

Wow did the pre-k get me fired up. The innocence the youngsters possess is beautiful. They are truly precious. It was great how well they responded and how easy they were to enthrall and motivate. At first we went outside on the playground. Most of the time we played tag and they ran around chasing me. It is amazing how such a simple activity can really hold their attention for such a long length of time. It was a lot of fun and very physically exhausting. We really nailed the naspe standards that emphasize participating in fitness enhancing physical activities. All of our heart rates were up. I felt like Barry Sanders juking them out so they couldn’t catch me. It was great because it got them used to changing direction quickly. After we went inside and me and my classmate read books to them. I have never done that before and it was a great experience. To really captivate them and make the book come to life was a lot of fun. After we set up an activity that was hooked in to the story line of a book we read about Clifford (the big red dog). The task was to crawl through a tunnel, hop and jump on pull spots, pick up fake food, and then put it in Clifford’s bowl. The kids ate the activity up. If we didn’t stop them they would have done it all day.

The circus came to St.Mary’s? Noo couldn't of ???

Ya, You bet it was physical education circus style at St. Mary’s Wednesday. We may have looked like clowns but we were not clowining around when it came down to manipulative motor skills like throwing and catching. The task was if the students could make enough of an impression on us to convince us of letting them join are circus. Did they succeed? Does dumbo fly? There were some techniques we helped them tweak but for the most part they performed the tasks well. I lead the first set of activities which involved throwing the ball against the wall and catching it. The students resembled the different stages ranging all the way from initial to mature but mostly they were performing at the elementary level. One of the bigger symbols of elementary status was bringing the ball behind their head when throwing. I though the students did great with staying focused and putting forth strong amounts of effort. I did a good job at captivating their attention and instructing the activity with enthusiasm. As we played the other throwing activity we were able to individually go into greater detail with breaking down the mechanics. I emphasized principles of keeping their eye on the target, trying to use their whole body especially their legs and core, following through, and pointing to the target with the opposite throwing hand. Some of the student implemented the suggested cues. I was surprised at some of the student’s accuracy while throwing. After, we went downstairs to the cafeteria. We got out the Legos and employed our creativity to build whatever structures came to mind. Then after going back up to the gym we played some roundball and to cap the day off we did the chicken dance. St. Mary’s has a way of making you feel like a kid again. Good times

PE Ninja

My spirits were flagging as I arrived to St. Mary’s. I was tired and did not know if I had enough energy to carry on through the day. Upon arrival we got right to work with organizing the equipment room. As we began to tackle the task at hand I started to feel more optimistic. I felt that we bonded as a group and it gave us a chance to collaborate closely and practice cooperation, communication, and teamwork. We were able to clean the whole closet out, take an inventory on all the equipment we had and then restock the closet in a more easily accessible and organized way. After, we all enjoyed the feeling that we had accomplished something. At first it seemed like too tall of a task to carry out but it actually was not so bad. I also got exposure to all kinds of cool equipment. From giant Q-tip looking things, to different shaped elastic paddles. The possibilities seemed endless of games that could be implemented using the variety of equipment that was present. After we finished with the equipment we got a chance to interact with the kids during some of the activities. I was a little taken back with the skill level some of the students have pertaining to knockout. There was a time I was actually trying and I lost. But it is always a fun game to play at St. Mary’s. I also played knee basketball with another group of younger kids. It was exciting to play on our knees well the children played standing up. At first I was a little annoyed with some of the students determination not to pass. I found ways to help motivate them to pass by verbally encouraging them, sheildingg them toward an open teamate, and stealing it or swatting it when they continuosly fail to pass. I was able to better facilitate teamwork and cooperation. Me and my classmate were able to implement sliding on defense and leaping on offense. At the end of the day I got dressed up in my Halloween costume and helped attempt to facilitate the “Thriller” song as a ninja. One of the kids responded strongly to me being in character. He was way more attentive and motivated to participate. I was able to do the dance with him and it was a blast. I left the school knowing that I contributed to the schools physical education. I had another great experience at St. Mary’s.