Welcome everyone to another wonderful year of physical fitness and health.
Students in grades 1-5 will again be working on their fitness goals. Kindergarten students will be learning how to stretch, exercise properly and will be working on fine-tuning their gross motor skills.
We will be having a jump-rope team demonstrate for us in December. "The Spindrifters" are a jump rope demonstration team sponsored by the American Heart Association. The 32-member team consists of 6- to 14- year old girls and boys attending South Bristol School. Team members travel in groups of 8 to10. Their purpose is twofold; to demonstrate the health benefits and fun of jump roping and to promote the Jump Rope for Heart student exercise event which benefits the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).
Our jump-a-thon event is usually held in March. We will be working on our jump rope skills and making up routines for this event after Christmas vacation. I hope that the children will get some new ideas from watching the Spindrifters perform.
Health K-5
Third grade students are learning about the food guide pyramid, calories and nutrients, reading food labels, testing for fats in foods. They will also be learning about safety and good decision-making. The body systems covered include the digestive system, the muscular system and the skeletal system.
Fourth grade students review the food guide pyramid and create commercials to show how the media influences buying choices. They will be doing a unit on heredity and genes; diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure are also covered. We will then move on to dental health, and the systems of the body including the cardiovascular system, respiratory system and the senses.
Fifth grade topics include self-esteem issues, healthy weight and dieting, eating disorders, making good choices and drug abuse. Communicable diseases are also covered. The body systems studied by fifth grade students include the endocrine system, the nervous system, cells, skin and skin care. The children will also be learning about puberty and the changes their bodies will be going through as they reach this stage of life.
Mrs. Jolicoeur has been teaching Physical Education at St. John School for the past 6 years and introduced our Health Curriculum 4 years ago. She is a strong promoter of healthy living for our students!
