Spring News 2020
We look forward to a Spring Term with more super sporting opportunities for all the excellent Elfies of Eldon!
Spring 1 News 2020
Fencing Fun and Healthy Lifestyle Choices
On the last day of the half term it's great to share lots of exciting news about School Sport and PE.
The Sports Crew are excited about the Big Dribble and Playground swap for Sports Relief.
Our mini skills team from Year 3 and 4 were fantastic at the competition. They exceeded their personal best scores for many of the events and placed first, which is a great reward for their superb efforts.
Here at Eldon we are very keen to promote walking to school or getting to school on our own steam. There have been many children commuting on bikes and scooters, and many children walk to school. Each class monitors the number of walkers each day and children are rewarded with a 'Walk to School Badge' at the end of the month in recognition of their active lifestyle choice. The Year 4 class which had 69% of the children walking to school in the month of January, have entered a competition to design the badges for the next academic year. Mrs Richmond is very pleased with their fabulous designs based on Wonders of the World!
Some of our upper Key Stage 4 children attended the Change for Life Festival hosted by Preston North End this week - they came back with brightest smiles having been very active and having had great fun!
Preston North End staff have also been working with some of our Year 5 and 6 children - in a project called 'Reading the Game' which is tying together the love of Football with the wonders of reading.
Our UCLAN connections remain strong as we say goodbye to Mr Ahmed after his 6 week placement and thank him for his contributions to the P.E. and Sport here at Eldon. We look forward to welcoming Miss Lawton on the 27th February and students from the University of Paris on the 5th March. The Parisian students will be accompanying the UCLAN students.
Yesterday we had an amazing Super Learning Day during which we celebrated the differences which make us all special. During the day some of the children tried a 'different' sport : Fencing. It was a great hit and we hope to offer this opportunity again in the future!
Spring 2 News
Challenging times and recent celebrations
Just as we prepare to close to most of our pupils we want to celebrate some recent successes and share some of our strategies to keep our kids moving 🙂
ust before all interschool competition stopped we had a few notable successes:
- Our Micro Skills Team made up of Year 3 and 4 pupils were victorious at the competition which was earlier this term winning their division.
- Our Gymnastics team made up of Year 3 and 4 pupils also performed exceptionally well at the competition where they showcased their vaulting and floor skills. The team came 2nd in their division and one of our boys clinched 3rd place in the individual placings.
We also had a very successful staff meeting where the P.E. staff showcased some of the whole school ideas to help meet our 'Super Sixty Minute Mission'. That is for all children to exceed being physically active for over 60 minutes per day. These ideas included lots of brain breaks from Brain Breaks – Alistair Smith ‘Move it – Physical Movement and Learning’ and physical challenges. We also shared knowledge from from the book 'Spark': John J. Ratey, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain to explain some of the thinking behind the mission.
Part of our mission included piloting using under the desk pedal cycles to be active whilst multitasking!
Despite the school closures which are imminent we have posted the following on our website to inspire the mission to continue at home.
Physical Education at home
Task : Daily Super Sixty Mission
Who for? : All Children
What is it and how?
Being physically active for at least sixty minutes throughout the day. This could involve helping with housework, or following an online routine or one of the tasks that follow.
Task: Master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination.
Who for? : All Children particularly KS1 pupils
What is it and how?
This is part of a key stage 1 expectation – so something we aim for all children to be able to do before the end of Year 2.
Suggestions:
Simon Says: Run on the spot, jump high on the spot, balance on one foot, balance with one foot and one hand etc
Sing songs such as ‘This is the way we jump on the spot’ replacing the action each time – to e.g: skip, hop, gallop; to the tune of: ‘Here we go round the Mulberry Bush’
Set a challenge to hopscotch on the spot and complete repeated knee to elbow (opposite knee to tag opposite elbow) touches to keep up coordination and agility, or if space is available do the ‘sidewinder’.
Play throwing and catching games. You could use a rolled up pair of socks, if space is tight or you don’t have a ball. Encourage underarm throws to start with and progress from two handed catching to one handed. Develop passing from hand to hand also. You could use cardboard boxes, empty cans, washing baskets, plastic bottles, or cushions as targets too. Make it fun or cross curricular by adding pictures or numbers to targets. Use an empty box or wash basket – how close or how far can you throw into the target from?
Task: Develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance
Who for? : All Children (particularly Key Stage 2)
What is it and how?
This is a Key Stage 2 expectation but elements of this could be employed with younger children.
Follow online routines such as those on the websites listed below – these include activities that will develop the above attributes
Have a one foot balance family competition who can hold a stork or tree balance for the longest?
Ask your child to come with a series of moves that they can repeat and complete for periods of 30 seconds – e.g. sprint on the spot, tuck jump, sit ups, press ups, step ups on the bottom stair – this could be repeated and a target number of repetitions could be decided. Could more be completed next time? Ensure that the child is using the correct technique.
Other active ideas:
Try saying the alphabet whilst using a body part on both sides, or the right, or left side of the body.
Here is a list of websites that could be useful as a starting point to keep your child and perhaps yourself happy and active.
There are also likely to be more resources available to families learning from home from the BBC and other sources.
Stay well and safe.
