Don't Walk in the Hallway

Students spend a fair amount of time walking in school hallways - during classroom transitions, indoor recesses, walking to get a drink and even returning library books. Imagine if we could enrich a school hallway to encourage moving creatively and promoting Physical Literacy.

A New Project

For almost a year Mr. Fen-Mac has been working on a project called Don't Walk in the Hallway. This project was inspired after Mr. Fen-Mac went to a workshop where Dr. Dean Kriellaars was speaking about developing Physical Literacy, enriching school hallways and the impact Physical Literacy has on childhood health and development. Perhaps at first, reading the title Don't Walk in the Hallway sparks a lot of questions. So here's my attempt to bring you in on this fantastic initiative and how Panorama Hills School is perhaps the first of it's kind to attempt this.

Overview

This school-based initiative to promote Physical Literacy is the beginning of a culture-shift in the design of traditional hallways. Recreation, Health or Education, regardless of your professional setting, Don't Walk in the Hallway encourages a shift from walking, to moving with purpose and creativity. In addition to supporting the development of physical literacy, this project aims at increasing daily physical activity levels among youth while nudging older populations to meet their recommended levels of activity. 

Our Plan

In the near future we will be taking a baseline assessment on the number of steps children take on a given day in our school. The plan is to measure 30 students over the period of 10-15 days. This is still in the works however because there is some policy around this type of assessment and we want to ensure that we are in line with CBE policy and regulations. More in the coming weeks on this. We will be using 30 Garmin activity monitors (Vivoki) that have the capacity to collect weeks of activity data. 

Once we have this assessment completed, and have an idea of the daily amount of steps, we are ready for the next stage. At this point we will be replacing nearly 130 floor tiles in our school hallways and creating patterns in the floor. These patterns are currently being designed with the help of the CBE Math Specialist, the CBE Comprehensive School Health Specialist, the Physical Education Specialists from the CBE and Catholic Board and of course our own Physical Education Staff. We want the patterns to be purposeful and encourage skipping, hopping and jumping (think agility ladder built into the floor) as students move through the hallways and we also want them to serve a cross-curricular purpose as well - in this case math. 

Once the floor tiles are in, we can take a post-baseline assessment of these same children. Our goal is that we will see an increase in their daily accumulated steps because they were no longer just walking in the hallway!

More Info and Other Applications

In one generation we have eradicated walking to school. This accumulates to a loss of 2000 steps a day and when converted into a caloric measurement, nearly 10 pounds of accumulated fat annually.  A typical target for children is 15,000 steps and on average children fall short of this by 4000 steps during the week and 7000 steps on the weekend (CS4L)! If we can replace this huge number of lost steps perhaps we can further make a difference in the health of our students and reclaim these steps.

This project doesn't come without a cost. Completing this work after a school is built can be costly. Our goal would be to have these patterns built into the plans of new schools. Alberta Education alone has plans to build 50 new schools and modernize roughly 70 more existing facilities and this initiative is not only for Alberta elementary schools. Middle and High Schools can benefit from these patterns too. Small breakout groups, working with students who require physical therapy intervention and even indoor recess can benefit from enriched hallways. 

Now here is the question - Will you stop walking in the hallway?

The Heart and Stroke Foundation visits our classes today.

Today Panorama Hills School was fortunate to have The Heart and Stroke Foundation visit our Physical Education classes. Students learned three important factors that contribute to healthy hearts – Living an active lifestyle involving daily exercise; Eating healthy and balanced meals; and, never start smoking.

Below are a few questions to challenge our students to see what they learned during today's visit. How much do you remember?

What is your heart made up of? 
1. Bone
2. Muscle
3. Fat

How do we make our heart healthier?
1. Exercise
2. Eating Healthy Food
3. Not smoking
4. All of the above

How much blood does our heart pump each minute?
1. 1 Litre
2. 7 Litres
3. 4 Litres

What would be considered a healthy after school snack?
1. Banana
2. Chocolate Bar
3. Fast Food Hamburger

When blood does not reach the heart because of a blocked vessel, a heart attack is possible. When blood does not reach the brain because of a blocked vessel what is possible?
1. A heart attack
2. A brain attach
3. A Stroke

Breakfast cereal should have at least how much fibre?
1. 6g of firbre
2. 3g of fibre
3. 1g of fibre

What percentage of heart disease is preventalb?
1. 10%
2. 50%
3. 80%

There are 4000 chemicals in one cigarette. How many of these chemicals are known to cause cancer?
1. 3 
2. 17
3. 65

Average age of Canadian child who tries smoking for the first time?
1. 13
2. 17
3. 21


Answers:

What is your heart made up of? 
1. Bone
2. Muscle
3. Fat

How do we make our heart healthier?
1. Exercise
2. Eating Healthy Food
3. Not smoking
4. All of the above

How much blood does our heart pump each minute?
1. 1 Litre
2. 7 Litres
3. 4 Litres

What would be considered a healthy after school snack?
1. Banana
2. Chocolate Bar
3. Fast Food Hamburger

When blood does not reach the heart because of a blocked vessel, a heart attack is possible. When blood does not reach the brain because of a blocked vessel what is possible?
1. A heart attack
2. A brain attach
3. A Stroke

Breakfast cereal should have at least how much fibre?
1. 6g of firbre
2. 3g of fibre
3. 1g of fibre

What percentage of heart disease is preventalb?
1. 10%
2. 50%
3. 80%

There are 4000 chemicals in one cigarette. How many of these chemicals are known to cause cancer?
1. 3 
2. 17
3. 65

Average age of Canadian child who tries smoking for the first time?
1. 13
2. 17
3. 21

What is good footwear for children?

Looking to find good shoes for your children? Are you curious about what would be a good choice of shoe? We hope that we can help a little in these decisions. 

Many children shoes today have a lot of gimmicks to encourage parents to spend their money on a pair of 'fun' shoes. The reality however, is that these shoe may likely do more harm than good and not last long enough to get your money's worth. 

In Phys Ed we see a wide variety of 'indoor shoes'. From slip on water-type shoes, to sandals to knee high boot/shoe hybrids to shoes with no laces...and this continues. Often we even see children wearing shoes that are too small for them, forcing the student to bend the back of the shoe to allow their foot to fit.  

Now this isn't all children and there are sometimes circumstances preventing families from buying new shoes for this growing children. 

Our goal with this post is to offer some advice that may make buying shoes a little less stressful and more functional for your children. Here is a fantastic video from Dr. Kelly Starett of whom Mr. Fen-Mac is a huge fan. 

Dr. Starett talks pretty fast in this video but his message is simple. Shoes should be flexable, durable and flat. It's important for children as they grow (and adults too!) to wear flat shoes to maintain proper mobility in their ankles, knees, hips and back. A shoes that doesn't fit will change the way a child walks; and if you think of the number of steps they take daily (nearly 12,000 - 20,000), this can have a dramatic effect on how their muscles and bones grow. 

Stop by the Phys Ed office and let us show you a few mobility activities you can do with your children to maintain good mobility in their feet, ankles, knees and hips. 

Purposeful Planning

Purposeful Planning

We are very fortunate at PHS this year to have two Phys Ed teachers - a dynamic team working together to bring your child the best year of Physical Education yet. This is a unique opportunity that allows us to plan even more purposefully than ever before.

Let's take what we've been doing in class as an example of this. The last few days we have been working on skills related to soccer and wall-ball. These two games are widely played at school during recess and we wanted to capitalize on this right at the beginning of the school year. Now this isn't much different than in previous years, however now we are able to teach these skills in unison - in one class, we have two groups of students working on these skills.

And here is the best part.

We are always looking to teach in ways that will develop the physical literacy of your child as well as their health (more here) and we've managed to do a great job at teaching skills involving hand-eye and foot-eye coordination at the same time.

Putting equal emphasis on developing opposite sides of the body is important in setting child to feel successful at a particular game/activity but it also plays an important role in the development of a their brain. In this case we crossed the transverse (hands vs. feet) and lateral midline (left vs. right) planes of their body.

Ever tried to throw or kick a ball with your non-dominant hand or foot? It's difficult, but possible. This challenging task forces their brains to work in an unusual way and strengthens them as a result.

We will continue to plan our Phys Ed lessons in a purposeful way, presenting the curriculum in an exciting manner. Next time your have a conversation about school with your child don't forgot to ask them about what they are doing in Phys Ed, you'll be glad you did!

Does your child W-Sit?

What is W-Sitting

Thank you to The Inspired Treehouse for some of this great information!

W-Sitting (as seen in the above photo) is when children sit on the floor in a way that their legs form a 'W'. Many children will sit this way to increase their base of support, making up for a possible lack of core stability or an underdeveloped vestibular system. Some children will sit with their legs 'criss-crossed' or straight out in front of them and experience a sensation that they will fall over and W-sitting is their body's response to this.

At a time when children's bones are growing rapidly, W-Sitting can affect the way their femur and tibia (leg bones), feet and muscles around their hips develop. This also limits a child ability to develop cross-body coordination.

Our Phys Ed team has known about W-Sitting for a while now, however we are coming across more and more resources from medical practitioners advocating for awareness on this topic. Please take a moment to read the information below and if you have time check out this great blog post about W-Sitting.

Why is W-Sitting a Problem?

"This position limits trunk rotation so that kids can't shift their weight to either side. This affects the development of balance reactions and the ability to cross midline. Hip and leg muscles can also become shortened and tight which may lead to 'pigeon toed' walking and back or pelvis pain as they grow" - The Inspired Treehouse 

Credit - TheInspiredTreehouse.com

Some Alternatives to W-Sitting

The Inspired Treehouse also put together this great video about W-Sitting and some alternative ways for children to sit.

Terry Fox Run

This year our school will be participating in the Terry Fox run in late September. We will be continuing with our Toonies for Terry fundraising campaign, which benefits cancer research. You and your family can make a donation in any amount online by clicking here . Students are also encouraged to bring in their donations to their classroom teachers. Our goal as a school community is to raise $5, 000.00.  If we meet our goal Mr. Fen-Mac and Mrs. Lauder will shave their heads and Miss Laslo cut her hair in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. Let’s start fundraising! 

Are you safe? Are you respectful?

What are the PHS Playground Rules?

We posed this question to a class of 75 grade three students this afternoon.

Can you guess how many responses we received? Well, nearly every hand went up and after having three students respond, almost every hand was still high in the air desperately waiting to add to the conversation. Many answers (this exercise was repeated a few times prior to this class too) consisted of 'Don't do this...' and 'Don't do that..' and 'You're not allowed to...'. 

We anticipated this.

That's why our Phys Ed team is encouraging less rules.

Be Safe

Be Respectful. 

These two rules are unique because they encourage students to think critically. It's our observations that children who have the capacity to think critically of their actions, the actions of others and their surroundings are building much stronger understanding to what is considered right and wrong with respect to rules and expectations. 

We hope over the weeks to come that children will be asking themselves, 'Are my actions safe? Are my actions respectful?' rather than 'Is this allowed?'.

WHICH DEN DO YOU BELONG TO?

Panorama Hills School is a large K-3 school with nearly 700 students, a number that comes close to most middle schools. With an organization this large it becomes difficult to manage and assess this number of students.

As you know PHS now has two Physical Education Specialists which will make this process more efficient and purposeful. However, the addition of the second PE teacher alone is not the biggest strategy to accomplish this.

This year Mr. Fen-Mac and Ms. Atwall have introduced Dens to the PHS Phys Ed program. Similar to houses, such as in the famous movie Harry Potter where the sorting cap matched Harry to the house Hogwarts. At PHS, ten coloured Dens - two of each colour, yellow, blue, pink, red and green - now stand tall above the gym that each student belongs to.

We consider these Dens as learning communities that students will identify with each time they come to the gym for Phys Ed. Not only will this assist us in the management of so many students, our hope is that it will create a sense of identity for each of our students. Students across the school will belong to a coloured Den regardless of their grade. Perhaps our school spirt days will take shape around this concept where students could dress in their Den colours or maybe Kindergarten students will be buddied with their Den buddies in Grade 3 for reading groups or school-wide events. The opportunities are endless!

So...which Den do you belong to?

Do your children spend time outdoors?

Have you (and your children) found a balance between screen time and time outdoors?

Screen time (commonly know as the amount of time someone spends in front of a digital screen) is something that many families can admit is often a struggle to manage. Children these days are 'digital natives' who were born into a world with technology at their fingertips. This isn't a bad thing, it's actually very fascinating to think what technologies our children may interact with many years from now. However, screen time at the expense of spending time outside engaging in free play is what one filmmaker decides to explore in the film 'Project Wild Thing'.

PLAYCalgary has advertised a Be Fit For Life partnership with Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation and TELUS Spark, who will be hosting a viewing on September 20th at 2pm of 'Project Wild Thing' This is a great (and FREE) opportunity to view this film, however you must register through PLAYCalgary in order to attend.

"Project Wild Thing is an ambitious, feature-length documentary that takes a funny and accessible look at a complex issue: the increasingly fragile connection between children and nature. It also looks at an issue near-and-dear to our hearts, getting kids away from screens and back to being active outside."

New research has found that this generation of children has a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Getting active, developing a love for the outdoors and making wellness a way of life can reverse this trend. Perhaps "Project Wild Thing' may provoke a desire to spend more time outdoors.



PROJECT WILD THING - official trailer from Green Lions on Vimeo.

Meet Your Phys Ed Teachers

What has four legs, four arms and two heads?

Your new Phys Ed team!

This year at Panorama Hills School we are very fortunate to have TWO Physical Education Specialists! Mr. Fen-Mac is joined by Miss Atwal this year to bring you the best year of PE our school has yet to see.

Having the opportunity to plan and organize our school's Physical Education classes with another teacher means that PHS's PE program is going to be twice as effective in delivering a comprehensive, engaging and exciting curriculum than ever before.

Check out your new Phys Ed team in action!

Trade Screen Time for Play Time

Unplug and Play - March 24th - 30th

Check out this great initiative!

PARTICIPACTION is encouraging families to 'Unplug and Play' from March 24th - March 30th for at least one hour a day. Trade in some screen time for some play time with your family! It's been found that the average Canadian child spends close to 8 hours in front of some sort of electronic screen (Participaction.com). 

Participaction.com

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer that it is important for our children to be exposed to and learn how to use technology, after all they'll be using technologies that haven't even been invented yet...maybe they'll be doing the inventing!

What I do feel is important here is that children develop an appreciation for being active. Understanding at a young age that taking a break, moving and being active is directly related to their health, will have a tremendous effect on their lives as they grow older. 

Now, this is a pretty big thing to ask young children to learn so let's just start by playing and having fun! I hope you might take up this challenge. 

5 Extra Years

This video isn't supposed to scare anyone, well maybe that is what it is supposed to do! It illustrates the importance of our youth being active.




I recently had an opportunity to take part in an inspiring 'Mini Summit' put on by Canadian Sport for Life and Sport Calgary. Dr. Dean Kriellaars was the principal presenter and he was able to open the eyes of many on the importance of physical activity, specifically the concept of Physical Literacy.




Someone in the audience asked him on how to get people, specifically parents, to buy into the importance of physical education in schools and day-to-day physical activity for children. His simple answer, 'Remind them it is their children's health at stake'. This answer struck home for me, thinking of my own daughter.

Nearly 42% of children 6-11 years of age are meeting the minimum amount of recommend daily physical activity (3.5% of adults 20-59 years of age are meeting their minimum 30 mins!) - CS4L, Physical Literacy: From Research to Practice. The statistics are scary, but we can change these statistics - 60 minutes a day. Children should be participating in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. We do a pretty good job in schools with recess, physical education and activity in classrooms, but it's not always enough.

We have to remember it's their health that's at risk!