I don’t have a classroom anymore. No attendance to take, no daily lessons to plan, no consistent group of students sitting in front of me. As an assistant athletic director and coach, my interactions are more scattered amongst the hallways, gyms, sidelines, quick check-ins in between everything else. At first, I missed that built-in connection. …
What do Barbados, Switzerland, and London have in common? On the surface, they are dream vacation spots. Dig deeper, and you’ll find they are the birthplaces of three distinct, high-energy paddle games: Road Tennis, Street Racket, and touchtennis. For years, my colleague Seth Martin (Lake Tahoe Unified School District) and I have discussed a necessary …
As I’m wrapping up my fourth year after I stepped away from my own classroom and having become a super sub (just a fancy way of saying I sub every day at one school…and I get paid a little more for it), I have gained a unique perspective that I’ll take along with me when …
Are you looking forward to the holidays? How about spring break or the summer or simply Fridays? Or how about just coffee? What about retirement? Do you know teachers that have their retirement date worked out to the year, month, week, day and depending on how things are going in a particular movement, they may …
In physical education, we often focus on what students are doing—running, jumping, throwing, cooperating. But some of the most powerful learning happens when students pause to think about how and why they are moving, feeling, and interacting. That’s where reflection comes in. I’ve been using a simple strategy with my students this school year called “4 for Thought.” It’s a set of …
Continue reading 4 for Thought: Using Reflection to Deepen Learning in Physical Education
LEVEL UP your gameplan: C.I.A. Control what you can. Influence what you’re able. Accept & manage the rest. Focus on what matters to LEVEL UP. In a world that constantly bombards us with social media influences, global, federal, and local pressures that tell us to do more and carry more, this framework is a reminder that clarity is …
Rethinking Productivity for School Practitioners8 ways to improve well-being while doing your best work in schools In schools today, productivity is often measured by how much you can get done in a day—lesson plans, meetings, emails, student support, documentation. But this “produce more” mindset comes at a cost. For educators, administrators, and support staff, that …
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Okay, I'll be honest — I was going to write something spicy. Something about how the entire Bravo network could be used to add relevance to your skills-based health education curriculum. (Honestly, that idea still has legs, but it would take at least 1,500 words and a lot of Summer House references.) So instead, I …
Continue reading Advocating for Health Education: You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
Kim Morton shares a message that’s hard to ignore: one day, your health may be the only thing on your mind. In this reflection, she challenges us to rethink how we value health now, and reinforces why what we teach in HPE has lasting impact far beyond the classroom.
Last May, as we were wrapping up the Lower School Field Day, a few Upper School students from Grades 6 and 7 approached me and asked, “Miss, why don’t we have a day like this in the Upper School?” A few weeks earlier, I had been told that I would be the Learning Leader for …
Continue reading When Students Ask, We Listen: Creating Our First Upper School Sports Day
Field Day is more than just a break from the classroom - it’s a carefully crafted experience designed to bring students together through movement, teamwork, and joy. While students arrive ready for fun, what they don’t always see is the incredible amount of time, energy, and resources that go into making the day unforgettable. Behind …
You can always spot a teacher at a conference. It's in the vibrant personalities and the unapologetically loud voices echoing through the lobby. It's the armloads of "really important stuff" including laptops, oversized water bottles, a stash of snacks that could last a week, and handfuls of "fabulous freebies." It's the heavy backpacks and the …
Continue reading A View from the Lobby: The Unseen Pulse of Pedagogy
Life moves fast. Between work, school, responsibilities, and the endless to-do lists, it's easy to get caught up in the serious side of life. But what if I told you that play - yes, play - is one of the most powerful tools for building resilience, improving mental and physical wellbeing, and fostering deep connections …
Do you remember the coach who only seemed to focus on the “star” athlete, making their contributions the only ones that truly counted? These coaches often, unintentionally, minimized the impact of everyone else on the team. But then, do you remember the coaches who saw every athlete—no matter their differences? The ones who invested in …
Continue reading Built to Belong: Why Every Student’s Difference Matters in Physical Education
Whose responsibility is it? This is a common question that comes up when adults are considering how to disseminate information to kids. Whose responsibility is it to teach kids about their sexual health? Whose responsibility is it to teach kids about drugs and alcohol? People will have a variety of opinions. But let's focus on …
Continue reading Infectious Diseases: Why Skills-Based Health Education Matters
In a recent #Slowchathealth post, Andy Milne, shared a story about a “classroom moment” where his students took control of the learning environment and taught each other. The topic was menstruation and how to be supportive. A young man asked what more could boys do to be supportive, and this is what happened: “As I …
Continue reading Creating Environments for “Classroom Moments”
Health misinformation is rampant on social media – here’s what it does, why it spreads and what people can do about it Media literacy is more essential than ever. Wanlee Prachyapanaprai/iStock via Getty Images Plus Author: Monica Wang, Boston University The global anti-vaccine movement and vaccine hesitancy that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs …
The White House has announced the revival of the Presidential Fitness Test (PFT), branding it as part of a renewed effort to promote active lifestyles, nutritious eating, and American sports in schools. Touting "bold and innovative fitness goals for young Americans", the administration claims this proposal will help foster a healthier, more active generation. But …
Continue reading A retrograde move: The ‘Presidential Fitness Test’ returns with a political agenda
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