Dr. Jim's Gym

Adidas Junior River Run

2010-02-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Practice is well underway for our 38 students who will be running the Adidas Junior River Run on March 13 in downtown Jacksonville. The students are working hard by running each morning to build up their stamina and to improve their times in the mile distance. It's not too late to enter if anyone is interested.

Dancing With The Dolphins

2009-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the coordinated efforts of our retired music teacher, Ms. Lois Collins, and our current music teacher, Ms. Jane Plank, we were able again this year to provide our students with an inclusive unit on dance and movement. For several class meetings we combined the music and physical education departments and danced to a variety of songs including the "Macarena", "Twist", and "Electric Slide". We also moved into the areas of Line Dancing and, of course, Square Dancing.

All of our students did an outstanding job learning the dances and tonight we rewarded them with a night of spaghetti and dancing with their parents. The program was a tremendous success and a lot of fun as more than 150 of our students and parents participated. Thanks to our principal, Ms. Yvonne Ferguson, and a number of our teachers, the night turned out to be an excellent time of partnering and sharing with our extended family, the Mayport Parents!

Dancing With The Dolphins from dayle timmons on Vimeo.

RECESS: ONE OF THE FOUR R'S?

2009-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article was published this month in the Health section of the New York Times suggesting that recess might be as important to a child's academic experience as reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Dr. Romina M. Barros, a pediatrician and an assistant clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was the lead researcher for this study and concluded that the findings were important because many schools do not view recess and exercise as essential to education.

From my experience in the field of Physical Education, I can readily agree with Dr. Barros on her thought that many educators do not view recess as an essential need in a student's academic setting. I know that many teachers continually hold students out of Physical Education classes and recess either as punishment or as a means to have children make up tests or missed work. When a teacher holds a child out of Physical Education class, what does that say about the teacher's view of Physical Education? It says that the teacher does not view Physical Education as important. It says that the teacher does not respect the Physical Education teacher's discipline and does not understand that the PE teacher also has goals and objectives that are to be mastered. They also don't understand that physical activity can energize the mind to make learning in the classroom more engaging, often leading to enhanced memory skills. Teachers need to understand that physical activity can be their best friend, as the physical break will help to keep their students on task academically. It amazes me that some teachers and administrators do not understand that children's brains need a break to rejunenate just as they need a break in order to rejunevate their ability to teach in a meaningful way.

Let's join together and return to the old premise of educating the whole child: socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.

State of the Art Playground

2008-09-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Duval County Schools, we have a beautiful new playground that our older students are already thoroughly enjoying. It's very sound structurally and a great addition to our school. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

Healthy Hearts

2008-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

We're well into our first ten days of school in 2008-09 and out students here at Mayport are actively embracing our venture into the world of cardiovascular conditioning and physical fitness. Each of our classes from the kindergartners to the fifth graders are discussing how a healthy heart, healthy eating habits, and daily exercise are essential to a lifetime of wellness. In support of this "healthy heart" lesson, each physical education class is spending 45 minutes in our fitness lab actively engaged in strengthening their hearts through cardiovascular training. We are utilizing our recumbent bikes, airdyne bikes, treadmills, and our steps to aid the strengthening of our heart. We are also individually learning how each piece of equipment is to be utilized for the greatest gain so that our regular classroom teachers will feel comfortable bringing their classes at least once a week for additional heart conditioning.

Volunteers Needed

2008-08-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to play softball on a dirt infield with grass everywhere or wanted to play volleyball in the sand but couldn't find the sand for the grassy weeds? We have a beautiful physical education facility here at Mayport Elementary but we definitely have two eye sores that need some help. If there are any volunteers out there who would like to contribute some physical labor to help our school in this particular area, I will be glad to roll up my sleeves and join you so that we can get our volleyball and softball areas back to the state they were in before we left for the summer. If you are able to assist, please contact Ms. Lacsamana at 241-5988 or just drop by our school and fill out the volunteer form in the front office. Thanks in advance for your help!