NDE Sudwerk Dock Party THIS FRIDAY!

The Kids in Motion Fitness programming offered this year include: Jump Rope Club, T/K and Kindergarten fitness, Primary fitness, Intermediate fitness (including fencing), and 6^th grade cross-age mentoring (with 1^st grade). This is my final week of describing each program individually. My focus this week is on 6^th grade cross-age mentoring (with 1^st grade).

The 6^th grade cross-age fitness mentoring is in its second year. We found that due to the length of time that the 1^st grade sessions run (throughout the entire morning on Fridays) we were struggling to find enough adult help. At the same time, the 6^th grade had to give up their Book Buddies (cross-age mentoring) due to their rotation scheduling. In meeting the needs of all students and our programming, it was the perfect fit to have our 6^th grade students lead an activity with the 1^st graders on Friday mornings.

On Wednesdays, as part of the 6^th grade fitness rotations, Mrs. Heeren leads an activity with ½ of the students. This is designed as training. Those who have been trained each week are able to sign up to work with one of the three first grade sessions. The following week, the other ½ of the 6^th grade is trained and ready to lead the activity if they sign up to do so.

On Fridays, 6^th grade students come out in groups of three to lead one of the stations with support and supervision from Mrs. Heeren. There are three sessions during the morning, and three separate groups of 6^th grade students come out to assist (= 9 students each week). These students miss up to 30 minutes of their in class or recess time for the Friday they are assigned. All of Mr. Stewart’s class has tried this opportunity once. Half of Miss Spence’s class has tried this opportunity. The other half will have the opportunity in the next two weeks. Ms. Disney’s class will have the opportunity in November and December. After the new year, students who are interested will sign up to assist a second time.

Feedback from teachers has been great! And the first grade students thoroughly enjoy their time with the 6^th grade students. The 6^th grade students who have assisted thus far have offered the following feedback about their experiences: “I like seeing them smile and having fun”; “It’s great when we help them do something they didn’t think they could do”; “I didn’t know teaching was this hard!”

If you have questions, please contact kristenmuir@sbcglobal.net.

Message from the PTA