Promoting Your Physical Education Program
Plan a Physical Education Program Night at Your School
by
Sharon Welch
Seldens Landing Elementary
Loudoun County Public Schools

A Physical Education Program Night is one of the best ways to educate the community about the quality Physical Education program at your school. This year I am planning our program at Seldens Landing Elementary based on the theme, “Throughout the Year in Physical Education”.

First, discuss your ideas with your school administrator and get your program on the calendar early in the school year. Tell them how you will include a wide variety of activities, skills, and grade levels to develop an entertaining and informative program. Invite the community, school board members, and school system administrators to attend the program. Send notices to local news media about the event.

Next, set a goal for what you want your program to accomplish. My primary goal this year is to educate my students’ parents about the “New PE” that they are hearing about in the media. I will include in the program pamphlet the Virginia Standards of Learning, the National Standards, and the Loudoun County Goals for Physical Education. Student reporters will periodically break into the program with news bulletins about the rise in diabetes and obesity levels, the decreasing levels of fitness results, and the new approach to teaching students to become active for a lifetime.

Decide what grade levels you want to perform in the program. In order to reach a broad audience, I select 6-8 students from every class. This makes practicing difficult, however, I allow students to practice in the gym before school if they have time. You can also use instant activities to practice the skills. Some schools in my system choose to have one grade level perform. If you have never had a Physical Education Program Night at your school and wanted to choose one grade level, third grade is a terrific age group.

Keep the classroom teachers informed. They will need a list of participants so they know who will be bringing back permission forms and will need to be sent to rehearsals. Some teachers may have time and space to have their students practice during recess.

Planning is an integral part of the process of pulling off a successful and hassle free program. Plan the order of the program activities that will transition easily from one activity to the next. Decide where to have equipment located for easy access for the different activities planned. You will need help with management of the students. Ask teachers and parents to volunteers to sit with your students and get them ready for their performances. Make sure these volunteers have a list of equipment and a program so they will know the order of the activities. Designate a volunteer to run the music and sound system. I have all of the music I am using on one CD in the order of the program of activities.

Start the evening with a high-energy exciting activity that will hook your audience from the beginning. My program this year will open with the Seldens Landing Jump Rope Team performing a routine. Then there will be an overall introduction of the program by an administrator or teacher.

Using skills that the students already possess and are familiar with should be used instead of taking valuable instructional time to rehearse and practice. Keep the activities simple and use music. I lead most of the dance and aerobic routines so if we get off track no one will know the difference. Do not expect students to stay synchronized or memorize long sequences of movements. Let them jump or juggle at their own pace. Parents do not expect professional performances. If any of the skills are too difficult be sure the students have an alternative skill to perform

To accomplish the goals of the program include resources for your parents to find out more about Physical Education by including web page addresses and other contact information in the program pamphlet. Be sure to include dates for school-wide events such as Field Days, and A.C.E.S. Add other information about before and after school activities such as Jump Rope Clubs and Jogging Clubs. Do not forget to thank all of the volunteers who helped with the planning and implementation of the program. Be sure to having a few closing comments and thank all of the students who performed.

A successful Physical Education Program Night takes planning and time but it is well worth it. Your students will be so proud to demonstrate their skills. The audience will learn about and experience the “New PE” first hand! Parents will learn that it is not the same “Gym Class” or “Fizz Ed” that they experienced growing up.