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!

Happy New Year!

Welcome back for the 3rd Quarter! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Winter Break. The cold and rainy weather seemed to have extended the break an extra week (wishful thinking). It has taken us a little bit longer in P.E. to get warmed up for our activities but we're very excited to be back at it!

We finished up basketball at the end of the 2nd Quarter. The students were able to use skills learned in team handball to put together pieces of basketball. We reviewed dribbling, passing and moving without the ball as well as learning proper techniques for shooting. The students improved their abilities quickly and we changed our focus to defense. Keeping our hands up, shuffling our feet and following the ball were key points. The classes were able to play full court basketball games by the end of the lessons as they challenged each other to make baskets, rebound and play defense.

This week we begin soccer! Like many of our units, we have started with the basics: learning to dribble, pass, stop the ball properly and move without the ball. A key point of emphasis will be moving to find open space and not crowd around the ball. Next week we will go over holding positions on the "soccer field" and finding open players to pass to. Learning defense and strategies to attack the goal will follow that. By the end of January our P.E. classes will be playing indoor soccer games using these skills and strategies.

More information and pictures to follow. Stay warm!

Horseshoes Pits and Bowling a Strike!

With the weather cooling down we took to the outdoors for a great pastime: Horseshoes. Kinder through third grade learned the game of horseshoes by reviewing underhand throwing skills and working on their depth perception. We used plastic stakes and hoops to make a horseshoe pit to which they worked on throwing accuracy and distance with plastic horseshoes (see pictures below). 

When we finished, we connected these pieces to the game of bowling. Over the last two weeks we have learned strategies for bowling and used our math skills to score the games. We used plastic bowling pins set up in an arrangement of 6 to knock down and score the big strike! In the end, we were able to play competitive games keeping track of everyone's score.

When we return to school next week we will begin our final unit before Winter break. We will be reviewing our Team Handball skills to apply to Basketball! We are looking forward to a classic sport and an opportunity to teach the fundamentals and basic strategies of the game. Our goal is to demonstrate proper dribbling, passing, shooting and optimize the triple threat!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Skyhawks Inaugural Tournament

Our Archway student-athletes who participate in Skyhawks, our after-school athletic program, had their first tournament on November 7th. The athletes have been training in basketball and soccer since the beginning of the year and have learned many new skills! Last Saturday was a great opportunity for them to showcase their skills with other student-athletes from Archway Trivium. See below for some action shots from the weekend.

Skyhawks will have day camps every Wednesday through December 16th. Your student-athlete can join us for flag football, basketball, baseball, and soccer!

The new Winter session will begin on January 13th. It will be 8 weeks of flag football and volleyball on Wednesdays. Register for both the day camps and Winter sessions on the Skyhawks website.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back from Fall Break! We hope that everyone had a restful break from school and the students enjoyed the great weather. We are very excited to get back to school and teach some new sports in P.E.!

Before the break we were learning to play volleyball. We wanted the students to understand the basics of the game: rotating positions, bumping, passing, serving and returning. Each new skill was taught on a different day, but each skill built on the previous one to create an orderly game. By the end of the two weeks the students were able to play against each other by rallying through a series of serves, volleys and returned passes. It was really impressive to see them learn so much so quickly and play organized volleyball games! 

Now we will move onto Team Handball. This is a wonderful game to introduce to young athletes as it is very similar to basketball and incorporates some hockey elements. It will prepare them to handle a basketball by dribbling, passing and defending as well as making them move to get open and find unoccupied space. We will begin with the basics of dribbling and passing and move into defending against those skills. The goal is to play 5-on-5 games in which each team is trying to score a goal on their opponent. More details (and hopefully pictures) are to come!

Football and Volleyball

We have come to the end of our football unit and a lot of hard work has been accomplished. The students learned many football skills and techniques but it took a lot of patience and diligence on their part. They learned how to hold the ball properly and change direction when necessary as well as the positions on a football field and the job they have every time the ball is snapped (see pictures below). The students made great improvements with all the fundamentals and it was a pleasure to see them in action during our flag football games. Job well done!

Running the Ball Relays

Flag Football Games

Now it is time for volleyball. The students are getting a feel for this new ball that many have not played with. They are learning how to control the ball and make slight adjustments to hit the ball just right. Under-hand serving and bump-passing are skills that we will incorporate into short rallies so they begin to understand the game of volleyball.

As for fitness in P.E., we are making their simple plank holds a little more difficult. The students are doing plank stars, scorpion holds, and shoulder touches. Everyone has excelled at these skills as they continue to strengthen their core. Be sure to ask them to share their exercises and how it is helping their bodies!

Fall is (almost) In the Air!

I hope that everyone had an amazing Labor Day weekend! Dodgeball was a huge success in K-3 P.E. last week! We used the fundamentals of throwing and catching in a challenging game that students were quick to understand and enjoy. The students were reminded to focus on safety, use proper throwing techniques and stay alert and responsive. The classes were sad to hear that we will be moving on from such a popular and exciting game.

As we approach the Fall season, school sports have officially begun. At Lincoln Prep, students are participating in cross-country, volleyball, and flag football and we want the Archway students to experience these sports in P.E. Our hope is that they can understand the awesome games their older brother or sister may be playing. With that in mind, we have begun with football in K-3 P.E. We will start by discussing important positions and their roles during a game. We will also break down hand-off exchanges, throwing a football, running to avoid others and anticipation. Drills and games will be incorporated to learn these skills and our aim is to play flag football games by the end of next week.

As the weather cools down, be sure to send your kids outside to practice all the exercises and games we are learning in P.E.! This week the students will be doing bicycles (laying flat on their back) for abdominal work and a variation of push-ups (called "go-go push-ups") that they will excel at. Be sure to ask them to show you all their fitness exercises!