Thank you everyone who helped with this years Water Works Playday!! It was a huge success and for the most part the weather held up. Parents I could not have done it without you. Have a great summer and to all the 5th graders good luck in the years to come. Parents and students don’t forget to exercise over summer break. Ride your bike, go for a hike, walk the dog, go swimming, roller blade, ride your scooter or skateboard, join a sports team, fly a kite, play tag with kids on the block, enter a city race with your kids, sign up for a sports camp, go to the park, the opportunities are unlimited, JUST BE ACTIVE! A scary stat I read the other day said, “only 4% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 were considered overweight in a 1971-1974 survey, while 18.8% of children at this age were overweight in a more recent 2003-2004 survey” You can help turn this around!! Have a great and safe summer!
Eye of the Tiger Award Winners this Week!
Summer Time!!
Week 33 & 34: Frisbee Frenzy
These next two weeks we will be starting our Frisbee unit. Our first class will be devoted to learning the basics of throwing and catching a Frisbee. As their skill level goes up we will be playing target games, as well as small sided ultimate Frisbee games for our 3rd through 5th graders.
Basics throwing techniques that will be stressed:
1. Stepping with the same foot as you throw
2. Pointing to target
3. Flicking the wrist
4. Keep the Frisbee level upon release
We will focus on three basic catches that will include:
1. Alligator catch
2. Two handed catch
3. One handed catch
Week 2, we will be playing the Frisbee golf out on the grass field. This will stress a variety of skills that include long and short distance throwing as well as accuracy when throwing a Frisbee. Older kids will be keeping a score card while K- 2nd will just be learning the course and the basics.
I will be looking to meet NM State Standard # 1, and students will be assessed on how well they complete all four basic throwing techniques.
Week 32 FITNESS IS FUN!!
This week we are gearing up the 1/2 Mile run with Fitness is FUN Stations! We have 11 fitness stations that will keep everyone moving and breathing hard.
The key to keeping our epidemic child obesity rate down is regular physical activity. Unfortunately not all of our students get the recommended exercise that they need per week. (The CDC recommends vigorous activity 3 to 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes) With only 1 to 2 PE classes per week this does not give everyone adequate exercise for the week and therefore we will be focused on ways we can exercise outside of school.
11 FITNESS IS FUN STATIONS:
1. Penny Stackers
2. Jumping Jacks
3. Big Hops
4. Basketball fitness
5. Sit-ups
6. Balance Machine
7. Hoop Run-Thru
8. Hockey shoot-out
9. Superman’s
10. Flexibility Central
11. Shuttle Run
Each Student will have a partner and go through all stations twice. Each station will be one minute long with a 10 second rest between each station. During this week I will be looking to meet NM State Standard number 4.
Week 30 & 31
For the next two weeks in PE we will be doing our hockey unit. For the first week we will be working on skill development through hockey stations.
1. Goalie shoot-out
2. Hot potato passing
3. Hockey bowling (shooting)
4. Forehand/ backhand passing
5. Dribbling
These stations are designed to give maximum activity and practice time before our modified games next week. My biggest emphasis will be on safety and keeping the stick below their knees. I will also be stressing proper grip and practicing puck control.
During week two we will play some small sided hockey games such as battleship hockey, and horse hockey. Older kids may get to play sideline hockey if their skill level permits other wise small sided games will be repeated. During these two weeks in PE I will be looking to meet NM State PE standard # 1. All students will be assessed on proper grip and dribbling control.
Week 29: Fitness Test & Battleship
This week we are warming up for our 1/2 mile fitness test that we will be taking in April. During this week 3rd-5th grade will run the 1/2 mile but scores will not be recorded. I would like the students to see where they stand in terms of cardiovascular endurance. Since many of the middle schools around town run the mile as part of there fitness testing I think it will be valuable for the older kids to measure their progress starting in Elementary. In April scores will be recorded and the students will get see the national standards for other students their age.
After the 1/2 mile we are playing a PE favorite called battleship. It works on both the overhand and underhand throw. It also works on teamwork and game strategy. The object of the game is to sink everyone’s battleship before your own battleship is sunk. Ships are sunk when all their pins, lined up on the corners of the ship, are knocked down. Students must stay on their mat (battleship) unless they are the team’s dolphin, in which case they are on a scooter and retrieving balls (cannons) for their team. This game is very fast pasted and games only last 3-5 minutes. New dolphins and selected each time and strategy time is given to teams to discuss ways to protect their battleship while trying to sink others ships. Grades K-2 are assessed on underhand throwing and teamwork. Grades 3-5 are assessed on overhand throwing and teamwork. PE standards covered this week include standard 1 and standard 5.
Week 28: OSUNA JUMP-A-THON!!!
Our Osuna Jump-a-thon is finally here. All week in PE we will be doing our jump-a-thon during class to raise money for the PE program. We have many great games planned for this fun filled week. Some of those activities include;
Free style jump rope
Long ropes
Double Dutch
Jump competitions
Last jumper standing
Stations games
And much more!!!!!
Our younger jumpers will be leaning more basics of jump rope and will be introduced to long rope for the first time at Osuna. This week is going to be loads of fun! For more information regarding the jump-a-thon you can refer to your orange packets or visit www.osunajumpathon.blogspot.com
Week 25-27: Basketball!!
During week 1 of basketball we will be learning one of the essential skills of the game and that is dribbling. We will discuss ball control and discuss the different cues for being a successful dribbler.
1. Use finger pads
2. Bend knees and keep ball below waist
3. Use non dribbling hand to guard ball
4. Keep head up
These basic cues will be covered while we play games like, rings of fire, berry monster, and dribble take away. We will end each class with a shooting game and this week it will be around the world.
During week 2 we will cover passing. We will discuss the importance of passing in basketball and cover the three basic passes in basketball, the chest pass, bounce pass and over head pass. We will have a triangle passing activity, monkey in the middle passing, and over the hill passing activity. We will again end the day with a shooting game and this week it will be H.O.R.S.E. Shooting cues that will be emphasized will be a simple acronym call B.E.E.F.
B-balance- get your balance. Make sure you are steady.
E-eyes-look at the rim, either the back or the front, it really doesn’t matter.
E-elbow-make sure your elbow is in line with the basketball hoop.
F-follow through- Make sure you follow thru when releasing your shot.
During the 3rd and final week the older kids will be starting small 3v3 games in a format I like to call king of the court. First to 3 points and then teams switch. This keeps games moving and many students involved. For the younger grades we will play a shooting game called HOT SHOT which has become an Osuna favorite. We will also have some free shooting and students will have the option to play other shooting games learned. We are just going to have to much fun these next couple weeks while I will look to align all classes with standard number 1 (The student demonstrates competency in many movement forms and proficiency in few). 
AT END OF THE BASKETBALL UNIT WE WILL HAVE OUR SECOND ANNUL MARCH MADNESS 3 ON 3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN THE GYM AT RECESS FOR ALL 3RD THROUGH 5TH GRADERS. WINNERS WIN SPECIAL PRIZES TBA!!!
