By

Kay White,   Everglades K-8 Center

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Physical Activity Participation

We are an unique middle school. Most of the students ride a bus to school or parents drop off, therefore, it is hard to get student participation in the mornings. We started with 5 students and now have increased our enrollment to 13 students. The students that participate encourage each other to continue participation. Comments such as, "I feel like I'm a part of a group, I enjoy running in the morning because I feel so free, I enjoy learning new basketball skills after we finish running."

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

The major challenge was students getting to school early enough to participate. We overcame this challenge by allowing students to come at any time in the morning and begin jogging before breakfast. Students that came early enough to jog at least a mile was able to participate in basketball drills after running. The second challenge we had was Daylight Savings Time. By the time students are able to jog it is 7:20 am. Most parents refuse to bring them under these conditions.

What improvements have you seen at your school?

Participating in Fuel Up to Play 60 is limited due to the unique circumstances of my school however, it has increase my students numbers in the running club after school. The students complain they can’t make it is the morning, but would love to participate in the afternoons. I have 31 students who participate in the afternoon club. They would love to be a part of Fuel Up to Play 60 because of the affiliation with the Miami Dolphins, however, they can’t come to school early in the mornings.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

We work as a team by including individual basketball instructions after fulfilling our endurance goals. Students set their daily jogging goals at the beginning of practice and after completing their goal, I teach each student a specific basketball drill. The students seem to enjoy the small group setting and the individualized help. They demonstrate confidence and pride when they return to PE class and students recognize their improvement in endurance and basketball skills.