2012 Update

Beth Hewitt, All Star Teacher 2010

“Chart and Challenge” -  a  Work in Progress

The honor of being named a 2010 All Star Teacher has been quite an experience!Beginning with the school wide assembly, school board recognition, newspaper articles, recognition from Riverview Hospital and ending with all of the nice letters and notes from parents and colleagues.  All of which made 2011 a very special year in my career.More importantly, this award has brought attention to White River Elementary and it’s commitment to our Project Fit America program.  We are currently in our third year of the program and we continue to grow stronger with this amazing initiative. 

Our first two years of the program were spent “learning the ropes” of all of our new fitness equipment and indoor teaching tools. Our curriculum has certainly been enhanced by all of the new nutrition and fitness activities that PFA has to offer.  My students had, and continue to, work diligently at recess to achieve success with our “outdoor workout center”. The combination of instruction during P.E. classes with hard work at recess had developed many fit kids who were ready to chart their progress.  Progress had been so significant that the same class of students progressed from 1 Presidential award to 13 the following year!  Using that momentum, we have now begun our Chart and Challenge Program and it has been met with great enthusiasm! The opportunity for every student to chart their name for fitness-related accomplishments has created quite a “buzz” at White River Elementary. 

We started the Chart and Challenge activity this fall and it has been a hit this first semester. I do have some areas that I would love to gain more knowledge.  For example: How long should I expect for a Hula Hoop Challenge to last?, How often should I allow students to “retest” for improvement?, Is it Ok to add other“events”? ,advice for Chart and Challenge during the Indiana winter months., is it beneficial to “challenge” during class time or best to challenge after school hours?. All questions that could be best answered by our Master Teacher,Steve Cox!!  I certainly feel our Chart and Challenge board (picture attached) has brought positive attention to the program, now I want to develop it into something that I will be able to sustain over time.  I would look forward to receiving advice on how to keep it rolling year after year. 

Our school system is undergoing some changes this year and next.  The change that impacts PFA the most is the addition of 5th grade into our elementary schools. So exciting for our kids as they will get another year of PFA!  Some of which have their sights set on some national records J Retaining our 5th graders will make our Physical Education Program even stronger by allowing these students another year to increase their overall fitness and participate in Chart and Challenge.  That brings my next question, “What’s the most beneficial system to transition students from grade to grade level using Chart and Challenge?”

 Now that Chart and Challenge is under way, another goal is to include my K-1students.  In addition to adding 5th grade, we now have all day Kindergarten, which allows them the opportunity to attend P.E. classes. Lucky me!!  White River gets PFA and now I get to share it with 5th graders and Kindergarten students.  As Chart and Challenge suggests, I use that program with grades 2-4 (soon to be 2-5), now I would like to start planning for “Puppy Clubs” for the 2011-2012 school year.  Those students keep asking“why can’t I get my name on the wall?”   My goal is to have something in place for them starting next fall.

Overall,you can see that White River has responded to our new fitness initiative.  Scores are soaring, kids are excited and our community is behind us. It took 2 complete years to feel that our base was solid enough to begin our Challenge and Challenge and now we want to move forward with it, in the most effective and efficient way possible.  We are certainly moving forward with PFA and having the opportunity to have Steve Cox visit us would further our vision for where we want to go. Our new principal, Christy Jordan, is knowledgeable of this program, but having a special guest would certainly give her the opportunity to see PFA at it’s very best for an entire day!  My students greeted Kim and Gary with so much excitement, I am certain they would be thrilled to have another special guest from PFA. I hope you please consider sending your Master Teacher to visit Indiana.  It would certainly benefit my vision asa teacher, our community and 500 students, soon to be 600, at White River Elementary.