Dear Parents, 

The month of May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), which is an arm of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); http://www.letsmove.gov/

The theme, “Let’s Move In School,” was chosen to help promote the government’sPhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans and reinforce the recommendations that:

“School-age youths should participate daily in 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity that is developmentally appropriate, enjoyable, and involves a variety of activities”.

In addition to the normal curriculum activities that reinforce the development of motor skills and the value of physical activity related to health and fitness, our K-5 classes will be involved in a four week endeavor to compile and track minutes of activity that they are involved in outside of school hours. Our goal for the next four weeks will be 67,000 minutes of activity OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME, which breaks down to 100 minutes of activity per child per week, outside of school.

Each week your child will be given a "Trip Ticket" where they can record the number of minutes of activity each day. Some days they may have more or less and some days they may not have any additional minutes, and that's fine; the objective is to reinforce the concept of "carry-over" into their home lives. We also strongly encourage you to take part in these activities with your children in any fitness and/or physical activity you may choose (bike riding, playing catch, walking, jogging, swimming, yoga, dance, frisbee, youth sport leagues, etc.). You can also access the FA physical education webpage and click on "101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun" for more ideas, as well as a blank Trip Ticket. We ask that you sign their log and have them return it each Monday. We will total the minutes and track them on the physical education bulletin board in the fieldhouse.

Quality physical education is the cornerstone in developing an active lifestyle however it is also important to find more opportunities for children to be physically active throughout the entire day. Maintaining healthy bodies is not only vital for physical well-being, but for mental and emotional development as well. We hope this helps reinforce this idea within your children.

Thank you in advance, for supporting this initiative and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Physical Education dept. at 393-4224

Sincerely,

Physical Education Staff:

Christine Botti       Dave Barth

Gail Baker            Steve Hefele

Brian Baxter         Jackie Smith

Mike Damm         Alan Quackenbush