Keep Moving and Have a Safe Summer!
What a wonderful year the MBTS children had in PE this year. I am always so impressed with the level they hold themselves accountable to in the variety of sport and fitness activities in which we participate.
Our last unit of the term is always one greeted with a wide range of reactions from the children ranging from squeals of excitement to sounds of sighs: Movement. This unit, despite it being our last unit, encompasses a wide range of skills and movements used in sports, such as artistic gymnastics, sports acrobatics, rhythmic gymnastics and dance. It gives the children the opportunity to get to really know and understand how their body moves and what it capable of, and taps into a level of creativity they often don’t realize they have.
Coming from a gymnastics background personally, the gymnastic skills are my favourite to teach but I really enjoy when we turn our focus to dance. Each year the children amaze me with how they step out of their comfort levels and create original individual, pair and group routines with a wide range of collaborators in class. The ability to do this despite some being new, unfamiliar or uncomfortable with dance shows the level of growth, comfort and respect that has developed between peers throughout the school year.
We work on creative dance, which is a type of dance that combines movement with artistic expression; it focuses on the basics of dance, development of motor skills and expression of feelings. When listening to different sounds, beats or music the children refine their senses and move their body in sync with each other and the environment around them. Dance also has wonderful social benefits, helping the children develop, respect, sensitivity, understanding and appreciation for what others are doing or creating.
The Casa children worked on basic gymnastic rolls and learned a complex, guided routine with 8 to 12 moves. Students in Lower Elementary worked on gymnastic rolls, individual, partner and group balances. They had to create their own individual and pair routines compromised of 8 movements, showing a variety of levels, direction and a range of tempo. Lastly, the Upper Elementary students also created their own individual and partner routines, compromised also of 8 movements showing a variety of levels, direction and a range of tempo, as well as a gymnastics travel and some sports acro balances, both individual and pair. The Elementary students then took turns to perform their routines in front of their peers.
I am truly proud of all of the students and hope that they keep moving, being active and trying new things throughout the summer.
Please see the safeguarding tips provided by the Red Cross and consider asking these important questions before signing your children up for camps this summer.
