By

Curtis Hicks,   Pleasantville Middle Sch

Play:

All In, All Abilities — Activate Your School!

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership,  Teamwork

During the 2018-2019  school year, the Pleasantville Middle School CARE Program did the All in All Abilities Playbook from the FUTP 60 website. As a part of our “WE CARE” initiative, we implemented the “WE CARE to Play 60” in which we said that we would be active for at least 60 minutes per day. Our students would come out with different ideas to use our equipment in order to come up with creative activities that were traditional and non-traditional ways of being active.

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

Oneof the challenges we faced during the beginning of the program was getting the students to want to be active. Many of our students were so inclined to stay on their electronics instead of getting up and going to the gym or going outside. Some of the things we implemented for those students were walking on the school track while using their phone, listening to music or talking with each other.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

The students worked together as a team in our student council sessions. Many students came up with different ways to be active without doing traditional sports, whether it was playing tag or capture the flag with our Flag Football equipment. The adults also chimed in with many supportive ideas and were willing to be active with the students.

What improvements have you seen at your school?

During the school year, I have seen more students who want to be active at least once a day during the after-school program more than ever. Many of our students who were mainly E-Sports players or board gamers have now been active and at least come to the gym or go outside many days of the week for at least one hour.