3rd Quarter!

Welcome back from Winter Break! We hope that you and your families enjoyed a restful break from school. We are excited to have our students back and get them active! Coming up this quarter at Archway Lincoln, we will have Athletic Field Day and Jump Rope for Heart. More information will be coming out soon!

K-3 P.E. finished up the second quarter with Kickball and Team Handball. Both sports presented dynamics from other popular sports: Baseball and Basketball. As the students learned the rules of Kickball, they were able to improve their judgment by choosing good opportunities to run from base to base and give their teams the best chance to be successful. They even incorporated our scooters to turn the game into a different challenge!

Team Handball also presented its trials but the students caught on quickly. We began with basketball basics such as passing and dribbling and transitioned into beating the goalkeepers by scoring goals. When we introduced defense, students began to understand the challenges they face with opposition. Much like Kickball though, students improved their decision making skills and moved the ball quickly to achieve success!

What an awesome first semester for our 4th and 5th graders in P.E. class! We finished our Presidential Physical Fitness tests with great news. Each grade made significant gains over last year's results and all due to the hard work and efforts of our students. Our Hockey and Pillo-Pollo units were a great success with all students learning positioning, team play and skills. Our tournament at the end of the unit was definitely the highlight. As we enter the second semester and a new year beginning the first thing is the long distance run for all and then we will begin a rope jumping unit to help us prepare for our "Jump Rope for Heart" activity. We will also begin to practice and learn the skills needed for our 2nd Olympic Field day. Coming up is a Football unit and a Frisbee Golf unit. Things are really progressing for all of the students as our Lifetime Fitness and Physical Literacy is always our most important focus!

Volleyball, Soccer, Hockey & Presidential Fitness!

Having just wrapped up volleyball, I would like to say "Congratulations!" to Lincoln Prep's JV volleyball team who won their division's championship. As we taught our volleyball lessons in P.E. several students mentioned having older siblings who were on the Prep volleyball teams. They thought it was really neat to be playing the same sport in P.E.! They learned volleys, bumps and serves and each day, continued to improve their abilities. Soon they were able to get games going and create rallies back and forth across the net.

Since returning from Fall Break, K-3 PE has begun soccer! Many, many students participate in recreation and club soccer and all of them have skills and stories to share! It has been very helpful having many experienced players help their classmates learn the various skills and strategies that we are teaching. They usually learn more quickly from their peers. Skills to be covered will include: (1) how to properly kick a ball - staying away from the toe-poke! (2) two-touch and one-touch passing (3) moving into open space (4) and defensive tips for success. We are looking forward to games getting started soon!

P.E. is awesomazing for our 4th and 5th graders. We concluded our Volleyball unit playing regular games and using rotations. Each student improved their skills and knowledge of the game. We have now started a dual unit with the Presidential Physical Fitness Testing as one. Each student will be tested on 6 items to include push ups, pull ups, 1 mile run, sit and reach, shuttle run and sit ups to see how they compare to others around the state and country. Using our slogan for this year of "MY Personal Best" they all are giving 100% and it is a joy to watch them achieve far beyond what they think they can. Ask your child about the tests as they are so proud of themselves. We will also have an endurance run where all students will run or jog for 12-15 minutes. The other dual unit will be Hockey and Pillo Pollo which are our student's favorites. We will learn the rules, positions and team play as well as gaining skill in using the hockey stick and puck. We will conclude the unit with a class tournament. Character building in P.E. is running rampant at Archway Lincoln as these fine young boys and girls continue to impress everyone with their integrity and goodness towards others. Our catch phrase of WIN (whatever is needed) makes this group of students very special.

Feelin' Good Running Club

We are very excited to begin our first running club at Lincoln! The Feelin’ Good Running Club will begin next Wednesday, October 26^th (due to parent teacher conferences, club will not take place this Wednesday, October 19^th). The club will meet on Wednesdays from 1:00 – 2:10 pm and conclude on December 14th. Coach Horewitch and Mrs. Bell will be leading the club. Both have many years of running and coaching experience and they have some exciting running activities for the students to enjoy!

We recommend that the students bring a water bottle to have with them on the field. We will have a jug of water available to refill their water bottle. Although not required, we also recommend students bring athletic clothes, a hat, and tennis shoes to change into before club begins. For details regarding athletic dress code, please see page 50 of the Family Handbook.

Is it Fall yet?

With the weather in the 90's this week, it is definitely time for Fall sports activities. K-3 P.E. classes finished flag football last week with a focus on teamwork. It was crucial for the students to understand all the positions on a team and how they worked together to achieve their goal. Students practiced these positions and played games that practiced their skills at each position. Positions included quarterback, running back, wide receiver, blockers and defense. The students rotated roles and positions and ultimately put it all together to play flag football games. 

Several students have been working hard at home, practicing their exercises and stretches. Last week, we were able test everyone's flexibility with back bending bridges. (It was easy to see who the future Olympian gymnasts will be!) Next up for K-3 students will be learning to play volleyball. Our lessons will teach basic volleys and passes to teammates with the focus on ball control. We anticipate some wild and crazy hitting at first, but once we have the nets up we will have the students rotating positions, serving, and rallying back and forth across the court.

Our 4th and 5th grade P.E. classes have completed the Soccer unit with class tournaments. They are now super soccer players and the students had a blast! Next, we went into the Individual Lifetime activities of Bowling and Horseshoes where all students learned the rules and completed fun activities and challenges. Now it's on to Volleyball, a favorite unit, where we will not only use volleyballs but beach balls and play balls to learn all of the skills. Coming up soon will be the timed Mile Run and the Physical Fitness tests. As usual, Wonderful Wednesdays will continue where the students get to choose fun games such as dodge ball and kick basketball. All 4th and 5th graders are having a happy and healthy start for a happy and healthy future!

Archway P.E. through August

It's hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since the first day of school. Already, students are making giant leaps and improvements in P.E. with both their physical abilities and their character. We have been impressed with their skills but more so, we have been inspired by their sportsmanship and care for others.

K-3 P.E. is wrapping up our Throwing and Catching unit with Dodgeball! The students are applying the skills learned to throw and catch with teamwork strategies to help them succeed. Our games include Knockdown Dodgeball and Out-of-Bounds Dodgeball, both testing the students on their awareness and ability to throw accurately. We know this is a student favorite and they will be sad it comes to an end.. Next week we will begin Football, reviewing throwing techniques and adjustments needed for the different ball shape. We'll discuss offense versus defense and working together as a team with good communication. We will incorporate tag into Football as we equip them with flags for simple flag football games. 

4-5 P.E. classes had a fantastic Fitness Day using different exercises at 12 stations. It was a very strenuous, tough circuit but every student met the challenge. Then it was on to Soccer Mania: Learning the different ways to pass, trap, kick and goal keep were all fun. We were ready for some lead up games including Big Ball soccer and 3 Ball Sideline soccer. The kids have had a blast! Next week we will start soccer tournaments. All these athletes have worked super hard and given 100%. Ask them about "liquid awesome." They are awesomazing. Next unit coming up will be a horseshoe/bowling unit.

Welcome to the 2016-17 School Year

The 2016-17 school year has begun! Everything Archway P.E. and Archway athletics will be right here for you to follow throughout the school year. Your students will be learning stretches, muscles, coordination, athletic skills, and sports as well as how to display virtuous behavior through sportsmanship. Our goal is to help them develop and discover their "physical literacy."

Our K-3 students have begun the year by discussing rules and expectations as well as proper procedures when they come to P.E. One major emphasis is sportsmanship. It is the expectation that we treat everyone and everything with respect. We have also begun teaching them the importance of warming up and stretching before activities. They are already identifying the major muscles that they are using during these activities. We have wrapped up each P.E. class with games and physical activity. Our first games include relay races and tag, which will commonly be played throughout the year to help practice coordination, awareness and athletic skills.

Our first days of 4th-5th grade P.E. were great! We went over the expectations and played "3 Men in a Boat."  Our first unit will concentrate on fitness activities and low organized games to include bean bag tag, boomerang, octopus, bridge freeze tag and dodge ball activities. Low organized games incorporate game skills, teamwork and sportsmanship. Of course, we never forget our Character skills. 4th-5th will be graded on A.C.E. ( attitude, character and effort). Our goal for every child can be stated this way: "MY Personal Best."

Athletic Field Day

Archway Lincoln’s inaugural Athletic Field Day will take place on Thursday, March 10^th. Your student will take part in a half day of Greek Olympic themed events in which they will compete against other sections in their grade level. The day will be split up into two parts with grades K-2 participating in the morning followed by grades 3-5 participating in the afternoon. Over the next four weeks, our Archway athletes will gain an understanding of the ancient Olympic Games and begin training for these events in P.E.

We are very excited about our first Athletic Field Day and we hope to make this a community event. We are looking for volunteers to assist us on the days leading up to the event as well as many helping hands on March 10^th. A sign-up genius with specific needs will be sent out soon, however, if you know you would like to support this event, please email Coach Cook at dcook@archwaylincoln.org. Thank you!