Marathon Kids

Hello students and parents!

Just a friendly reminder that this Friday, October 8, your Marathon Kids registration forms are due. This DOES NOT include the mileage log, only the registration form so that I know who all will be participating in this wonderful program.

Students have the opportunity to complete a Marathon(26.2 miles) within 6 months. They can do this at school or at home. I have also given the students some leniency on what can count towards their miles. If they participate in any extra-curricular sports (i.e. basketball, soccer, dance, martial arts, etc.) they can count 1/4 mile for every 30 minutes of practice that they have. This is practice with their team and coach only. Every time the students come to P.E. they also get 1/4 of a mile.

The track around the soccer field here at Roberts is 1/8 of a mile, so every time the student goes around 2 times, they get 1/4 of a mile, or 1 piece of 1 circle on their mileage log.

If at any time you need an extra form, there are extras in the office for your convenience. If you have any questions, please contact me- zlytton@houstonisd.org

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Roberts PE! We are going to have a great year this year! We have some new ideas to try out this year, as well as some of the same exciting things. Before going any further, I need to list my classroom rules for P.E. I only have 3 rules in my class.

1. Follow Directions
2. Be Respectful
3. Have Fun!

Anything that happens in class can be categorized under one of these simple rules. If a student forgets these rules and has a problem at some point in my class, we follow a 3-strike policy.
Strike 1- Verbal warning
Strike 2- 2-3 minute time-out
Strike 3- Student sits out of P.E. for the rest of that day and a note will go home that will need to be signed by a parent and returned by the student.

These rules are not simply to single any student out, but since each class comes to P.E. for 45 minutes, once a week, it is very important that your child come to class ready and prepared to learn. Only when they become disruptive to the learning of others will I implement the 3 strike policy.

What to wear to P.E.- I always tell the students to remember that P.E. is ALWAYS the school day after they have music ancillary, that way they know what to wear to school the next day. I know it is hard to remember during a weekend, but I would like for the students to try their best to remember. This is for safety reasons, but also so that the students can be comfortable when we are outside moving around. I ask that students DO NOT wear sandals, flip-flops, CROCS, or any other type of foot wear that could accidentally come off. I do not want a shoe coming off and then a student stepping on a sharp rock or stick outside. If we are doing a running activity, I cannot allow a student to participate if they do not have on the proper type of shoe.

***Also, please be aware of ALL of the school dress code policy regarding what your child can and cannot wear to school.***

Your child's grade will be based on active participation, as well as progression of skill. If the child is actively engaged in the activity for the day, their grade will reflect that.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at any time at zlytton@houstonisd.org
Thanks so much!

P.S. Please be on the lookout for Marathon Kids information to come out in Tuesday folders in the near future!

In store for the rest of the year

Our 3rd-5th graders have just completed their Fitnessgram testing and we have moved on to something new! They are currently about half way through a Lacrosse unit. During this unit, I will be introducing a few basic skills of lacrosse. This is our first year to try a lacrosse unit and I am hoping it all goes well. If it does, then we will continue to try to do a little bit more with it. Right now we are borrowing equipment from US Lacrosse- Houston chapter. If all goes well and our students enjoy it enough then we will look to purchase our own equipment. For those parents who are lacrosse enthusiasts, be rest assured that Roberts' version of lacrosse is non-contact! I wanted to do a lacrosse unit because some of the local middle and high schools have lacrosse teams, and those coaches feel like they would get more students who are interested in playing the sport at those levels if we introduce the sport to them at a younger age. I believe it is a win-win for everyone!
Our K-2nd graders are about to finish up with scoop ball. This is a game that will truly help them with their hand-eye coordination as well as their footwork! I am already seeing dramatic improvements from a lot of the students.

May will bring my favorite time of the year! Although it will be hot, we will be doing a lot of activities outside, so be sure that your child will be wearing proper clothing on his/her P.E. day. 5th graders will get into inline skating. They will learn how to put their equipment on properly, and we will take them outside to let them skate. 5th graders MUST wear socks.2nd through 4th graders will begin playing kickball and K and 1st graders will particpate in Boomball, which is a slight variation of baseball. The same concepts are used, just on a smaller scale. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or ask your child! Let's finish out the year strong!

Welcome Back!

Spring Break has come and gone! It is all downhill from here! We have some exciting things planned for P.E. over the next few weeks. For about the next 2 or 3 weeks all 3rd-5th grade classes will be participating in the Fitnessgram testing. The Fitnessgram test is just a fitness test to see where each child's fitness level is at compared to the average child his/her age. This is a test that each child in the state will complete. It is comparable to the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge. For more information on the Fitnessgram, you may go to their website, www.fitnessgram.net.
Provided that everything goes as planned, we should be getting into our lacrosse unit at the beginning of April. There have been some lacrosse coaches at the middle school level wanting to introduce it to elementary students, to create a growing interest in the sport. Some of the middle school teams are having a hard time finding enough students to make up the team. I will just be teaching a few basics, e.g. the proper way to hold the stick, proper way to scoop, proper way to throw.


Jump Rope for Heart- We Raised over $7,000.00 as a school for the American Heart Association! Congratulations to Ryan Quenomoen for raising the most money in the school and to Ms. Versalovic's class for being the top class money raiser! Ryan has won the opportunity to be P.E. teacher for a day, while Ms. Versalovic's class has won an extra P.E. time! Congratulations to all of you! You did a wonderful job! Thank you to everyone who donated or helped raise money for a great cause!

Jump Rope For Heart!

Yes, it is that time of the year!!! Jump Rope for Heart is kicking off this week. Your child should have received a donation packet as well as a parent letter in their Tuesday folder's this week (2/2/10). If they did not receive it this week, they will receive it next Tuesday. Jump Rope for Heart is a great way to get everyone involved in raising money for a great cause. The American Heart Association puts these programs on each year at schools across the country to help raise money and awareness for heart disease. Everything you need to know is provided in the packet that you received. This year, they are really trying to put a big emphasis on on-line donations. All you do is follow the instructions on the packet and then follow the steps on the webpage that you go to. It is a very cool page that the students can make their own. They can post pictures and write about what they are wanting to do. They then e-mail their family and friends and ask them for donations for a great cause. There will be some type of link in the e-mail that the donators will click on to put in a credit card number to donate. The AHA statistics show that people will donate up to 3 times the amount online, than they would in person!! So really try to push the on-line donations. Once you are finished with online donations, you need to print out the gift summary form and put it in the envelope that is provided. Now, just because they are pushing online donations, does not mean we are not taking face-to-face donations! As long as the money is in the form of a check, there is no problem. Please DO NOT send cash or change in the envelopes. If you do this, I will have to send it back home with your child. Everything for this will be due on Friday, February 26th, 2010. This is also the day when we will be holding our JRFH event. The event is a little different than in years past. It will not be after school and there will not be a pizza party. Each child in the school will participate in the event during their ancillary time on that Friday. Whatever ancillary class they have for that one day, they will come outside for the JRFH event. Now just because it is during the day does not mean we won't need parent volunteers. If you would like to help out, then please feel free to e-mail me. If you want to help out all day, part of the day, or just during your child's ancillary time that would be great. If you have any other questions or concerns, please e-mail me and I will respond to you promptly. Thank you and I can't wait to see how much money our amazing students can raise!