Submitted by: Sonia Sheehan, Physical Education Specialist and HPEC Member
The beginning of the school year is an exciting time filled
with unlimited possibilities to enhance your PE program. Taking some time at
the start of the school year to add something new can excite student interest
and innovate professional practice. Some things to consider at the start of the
school year include: adding professional guest presenters for specialized
student learning opportunities, planning special active school community events,
purchasing new PE equipment, and exploring professional growth plan topics. As
you start the new school year here are a few tips to think about…
Professional Guest Presenters:
Bringing in professional guest presenters can provide
specialized student learning opportunities that might not be possible within
the regular capabilities of your PE program. These guest presenters have the
ability to ignite student interest in a new activity and promote engagement in
physical activity beyond the school walls. Some examples of guest presenters
available to Alberta schools include:
·
Classroom Lacrosse: https://elev8lacrosse.com/classroom-lacrosse/
·
Inline Skating: https://alieninline.com/school-inline-skating/
·
Curling: https://rocksandrings.com/programs/rocks-and-rings/
·
Fencing: https://fencingcalgary.com/
·
Dance: https://www.soundkreations.com/
·
Triathlon: https://www.triathlonalberta.ca/schools
·
Track and Field: https://minilegends.ca/
·
Aerobic/Fitness Drumming: https://www.drumfit.com/for-schools
Planning Special Active School Community Events:
Planning for an early in the school year special event
linked to your physical education program can excite your school community and
promote physical activity outside school hours. Some special event ideas could
include:
·
Hosting a “Back to School Family Active Evening”
to engage your school community in physical activity. An after school hours evening
can include a variety of active opportunities hosted in your gymnasium, school
fields, tarmac and the school playground. Recruiting teachers, past students or
parent volunteers can help run a variety of active opportunities.
·
Scheduling a “Family PE Week” with a focus on
families engaging in physical activity through a weeklong initiative. Using the
free resources available on the OPEN PE site can make the planning a “Family PE
Week” a breeze. https://openphysed.org/familieslovepe
·
Running a school community Terry Fox Run. The
fall of 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of
Hope. https://terryfoxschoolrun.org/
Purchasing New PE Equipment:
One of the simplest ways to excite student interest is the
addition of new PE equipment for your PE program. Exploring your preferred PE
equipment supplier catalogue can provide ideas for new equipment to innovate
your program. Often your school council or school casino society might be able
to provide funding to cover the cost of purchasing new PE equipment. Some of
the Alberta and Canadian PE equipment suppliers include:
·
Gopher: https://gophersport.com/digital-canada
·
North Star Sports: https://northstarsports.com/
·
School Specialty: https://www.schoolspecialty.ca/physical-education-sport
·
Sportfactor: https://sportfactor.net/
·
Wintergreen: https://www.wintergreen.ca/sports-recreation
An example of new PE equipment is circus arts equipment. Circus
arts equipment is an option of something that might not currently be part of
your PE program. Circus arts can be an innovative way to reach curricular
outcomes that promotes high levels of student engagement. Some examples of
circus arts equipment include:
·
Juggling Balls: https://gophersport.com/softsqueeze-juggling-balls?queryID=1d1ed41981496f3ff88cb5d5c1615761&objectID=508035&indexName=gs_production_default_products
·
Juggling Clubs: https://www.schoolspecialty.ca/sportime-juggling-foam-clubs-set-of-3-2094881
·
Juggling Scarves: https://www.wintergreen.ca/scarves-set-of-3-wsp87100
·
Juggling Rings: https://sportfactor.net/JUGGLING-RINGS-p/j45.htm
·
Juggling Devil Sticks: https://northstarsports.com/product/juggling-devil-sticks/
·
Juggling Diablos: https://sportfactor.net/JUGGLING-DIABLO-p/jd21.htm
·
Plate Spinning/Plate Juggling: https://northstarsports.com/product/juggling-plate-set/
·
Step Stilts: https://www.schoolspecialty.ca/pull-buoy-step-n-stilts-set-of-6-pairs-1282649
·
Balance Boards: https://gophersport.com/rainbow-rockerwalker-balance-seesaw
Exploring Professional Growth Plan Topics:
Alberta teachers’ professional responsibility of pursuing
continuous learning through a professional growth plan encourages ongoing
learning throughout your teaching career. Choosing a topic that is interesting,
relevant to yourself, your students, and your school and sparks thoughtful
reflection into your teaching practice is important. Coming up with a professional
growth plan topic is a start of year thought process. Some topics related to
physical education to consider include:
·
Exploring and learning with Ever Active Schools
podclass episodes: https://everactive.org/podclass/the-podclass-episodes/
·
PHE Canada learning modules: https://phecanada.ca/professional-learning/training-and-certification
·
NCCP Education and Training through learning
modules:
o
https://coach.ca/new-coaching/about-nccp
o
https://coach.ca/training-modules?track=278
·
In-depth exploration, examination and
implementation of the new Alberta Physical Education and Wellness Curriculum: https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/ciihub/en/home
·
Universal Designs for Learning (UDL) to
accommodate a variety of needs of learners with a possible learning resource of
the OPEN PE learning modules: https://varsityuniversity.org/open/
Take some time to thoughtfully contemplate the start of the
school year and think about how you can make this school year the best one yet!
Will you spark student interest and innovate your professional practice through
professional guest instructors, special events, new PE equipment or an exciting
topic to explore through your professional growth plan?
Wishing you an active and engaging 2025-2026 school year!
