Last week of 2009!

Just like I started last post- I still can't believe it's December! This year has been moving so fast. Before we know it spring break will be here!

For the last couple weeks we have been focusing on basketball skills. We have been mainly focusing on dribbling and shooting, but now we are getting into a little bit of how the game is played with the older kids. It has been really neat to see the progress from all the students.

I do have a couple of fun days in-store for the classes at the end of the week. I know they are going to be extremely excited to have a couple weeks off! So, we are going to break out some of our favorite large group games on Thursday and Friday, and really let them burn off some energy!!

I hope everyone has a safe holiday break!!
Coach Jones

Holiday time!

I still can't believe we are already in November. It seems like the school year just started! We have been pretty busy since the last post. We covered kicking, introduced some fun tag games, learned new warm-ups, worked on some more throwing and catching, got the older kids into some modified games of flag football, and got the younger ones some work on dribbling!! The best part is the weather hasn't really been messing us up too bad!

As we get into the cooler months of fall please make sure your child has on a jacket in the morning. I know we have been having some awesome afternoons, but the mornings are staying fairly cool. The older grades (5th, 4th, and 3rd) are the first ones out for PE. We are usually starting some type of work outside by 9:00am.

One last thing!! The lost and found- it is crazy. If your child has misplaced a jacket or sweatshirt please stop by the table just outside the gym doors. There are still quite a few items on the table. I believe the unclaimed items will be donated to charity over the week of Thanksgiving!

thanks for all you parents do!!
Coach Jones

Floatin' on to the next unit..

What a crazy last couple of days. I hope that everyone was able to be safe and not have too much water damage around the house!

We are moving on to our next unit. We are going to be a couple days behind, but it shouldn't be a problem. This week we are starting kicking. The kids really get into this one. We go over basic skills on how to kick (short distance, long distance, and punts), and with the older kids we get into some soccer and modified soccer games.

Today the weather has been great. A little muggy, but not too bad. So far everyone has done a great job! We told the students about one big similarity between kicking and throwing. See if they can remember!

Thanks and I'll let you know how things are in PE land soon!

Coach Jones

Up Next..

Well, we got through fitness testing without too many problems. A few students didn't wear the right shoes a couple of times, but over all, it went just fine. I know the students are glad to get it over with, although it does seem like some of them would just like to fitness test all the time.

Kindergarten update-
The little guys and girls are doing just great. They are well accustomed to our warm-ups, their squads, and most any type of transitions between activities. They have surprised me. They are a really good bunch!

Onto everyone-
We have been focusing on throwing and catching. Everyone from kindergarten to 5th grade has been working on this in some way. We have introduced the skills to everyone, and now we are incorporating them into stations and games. The students are throwing everything from bean bags, to onion balls (you can ask them what that is), and even footballs.

Up next for us-
We will be moving along with some more skills work. Once we finish throwing and catching we will jump right on into kicking and then onto striking. We will be visiting these skills additional times through the year as well!

Tell your little ones to keep up the good work!
Thanks!
Coach Jones

National Standards

Below I am listing the 6 standards set forth by The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). Each activity that we do in PE will have some relation to at least one of these standards. Many times, our activities will relate to multiple if not all of them. Here they are:

Standard 1- Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical tasks.

Standard 2- Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.

Standard 3- Participates regularly in physical activity.

Standard 4- Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

Standard 5- Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.

Standard 6- Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.


Parents, please remember- I see your children 2-3 days a week. You see your kids a lot more. Please, stress the importance of physical activity with your children.

Thanks!
Coach Jones

Welcome Back!!

What a great start to the school year! Things have been running very smooth these first few days. Hopefully we can keep it up!

Here are some things on the horizon for PE

1.) Reviewing large group games- we like to start with some of our “rainy day” large group games. They really get the kids excited about PE, and it also give us a chance to review the rules and procedures for each activity.

2.) 3rd – 5th grades: Fitness testing! For the last couple of years Cobb County has been using the Fitness Gram Fitness Test to evaluate our students. You can find information on the series of tests at www.fitnessgram.net We will be recording and tracking the scores for the 4th and 5th grades.

K-2nd grades: Intro to fitness/fitness practice. These grade levels will have practice time with the tests just to get them familiar with the different activities. We are not going to be tracking scores.

Thanks for checking in,

Coach Jones

Catching up...Just in time.

Man, we’ve had a ton going on here at Davis this past month! Everything from Field Day, to fitness testing and fund raising to Chipper Jones! Yes, Just incase your child didn’t tell you- we had a little visit from Atlanta Braves 3rd baseman Chipper Jones.

I won’t go in to all the details of why he came (if you look back one post you will see why). I will just tell you that he was a really great guy, and the kids LOVED the assembly. Chipper spoke to the entire school for a few minutes. He explained his connection to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), and then he fielded some questions that were submitted ahead of time by some Davis students. After that he posed for a few photos, and then had to head out. He had a game that night at Turner Field!

Brave's Mascot "Homer"

Me, Chipper, Jenny (my wife), and Bryce!

Well now that you know Chipper came out to visit I guess you can figure out that our school won the CFF fundraiser competition! Our school raised $6,000 for the CFF. I was very impressed. What is even more impressive is that we did it in one week of school, just 5 short days! We had 2 classes that stood out in our fundraiser. They both happen to be 5th grade classes: Mrs. Watson’s class raised $640 and Mrs. Hintz’s class just nudged them out to take the top spot with a total of $652. Both of these classes got to meet Chipper and have their picture taken with him.

Before I go on to the next topic I have to say one thing- Thank you. As most of you know, my son was born in July 2008, and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at 3 weeks of age. We got his diagnosis right at the end of the first week of school. It was not an easy thing to hear. Once my wife and I had some time to let it sink in, we both felt like we needed to do our part as CF parents. One of my ideas was to do a fundraiser (to take the place of our normal PE fundraiser for the American Heart Association). I wasn’t quite sure how successful it would be, but I wanted to give it a shot. I never thought we would raise 6,000 dollars in 5 days. I can’t wait to do this again next year…and have Chipper visit us again!

Parents, thank you very much. I was amazed by your generosity, and excited that the Davis family was able to help in the fight against CF.

Next topic- Field Day!

Field Days were a blast! I know we ran into a little it of bad weather on the first day, but we made it work! We moved events into empty classrooms all around the school. The K-2 graders seemed to not even know the difference. We did catch a little break in the weather for the 3rd and 4th graders. We were able to get them out side and stick to our normal field day activities. On the morning of 5th grade field day we were a little nervous, but the weather ended up holding out just in time!

I do have to say a HUGE thank you to my parent volunteers who came and helped run events! We really couldn’t do it without you! Hopefully we can get all of you back again next year. I do have to say a VERY special thank you to Mrs. Georges. She really did all the work to make these days happen. A quick bit of background- I was stranded in Orlando FL on a weekend vacation that ended up lasting until Tuesday night at midnight…thanks to some major car trouble! While I was stuck down there Jenny was feverishly working to get things ready for Field Days! So, if you see Mrs. Georges in the hallway tell her thanks for all her hardwork!

Last thing- Fitness Testing

The last couple of weeks we have been squeezing in our fitness testing! We are tracking each student on 5 fitness tests- sit and reach, pacer, pushups, shoulder stretch, and trunk lift. For more details on the tests you can go to the fitness gram web site: http://www.fitnessgram.net/

I hope everyone has a safe summer! Be sure to stay active!!

Coach Jones

Cystic Fibrosis Fund-Raiser

This year the PE department will be participating in a series of small fundraisers to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). The CFF is dedicated to the fight against Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

CF is a genetic disease that affects the lungs and the digestive system. One out of every 3,900 live births in the U.S. is born with CF. In order for a person to be born with CF both of the parents must carry the recessive gene. One of the problems is there are close to 10 million carriers of the disease, but most people have no idea they are carriers.

There is no cure for CF. In the 1950's when the CFF was first founded a person born with CF was not expected to live to see elementary school. Now, thanks to organizations like the CFF a person with the disease could live into their 30's, 40's and possibly even beyond.

For more detailed information on CF and its effects on the body please stop buy the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation web site at: www.cff.org .

As some of your children may have told you, the reason I have chosen to support the CFF is a reason that is most near and dear to my heart. This past July my wife and I had our 3rd child, Bryce. Three weeks after he was born we received a phone call informing us that his mandatory screening came back positive for CF. We went in later that same week and had Bryce tested. The test came back positive.

As a father of a CF child I feel that it is my duty to support the CF world. Please do what you can to help. During the week of April 6-10th we have a few different activities planned. Here is a break down of each one:

Hat passes-
on Tuesday and Thursday hat passes will be sold for 1 dollar. As long as the students have their hat pass sticker on they will be allowed to wear a hat all day!

CF Awareness Bracelets-
Each morning we will be selling blue rubber bracelets to show our support. The bracelets will be sold for 2 dollars each.

JAR WARS!!-
This is a class versus class competition. We are going to challenge each class to bring in different denominations of money each day. The class who raises the most money by the end of the week wins the competition! The winning class will receive a prize...something like a pizza party paid for by me (Coach Jones). The details of the prize are still being nailed down.
Here is the schedule for JAR WARS!
Monday- bring in as many pennies as possible
Tuesday- bring in nickels
Wednesday- bring in dimes
Thursday- bring in quarters
Friday- bring in dollars

All money raised will go straight to the CFF where it will be put to work battling CF.

There is one more thing about our fundraiser! There are many schools across the state of Georgia who will be raising money to help fight CF. That is a whole lot of people supporting Cystic Fibrosis. One of them in particular is Chipper Jones, of the Atlanta Braves. Chipper has signed on as the state's "Celebrity Chair" for the CFF, and will be visiting the school who raises the most money. Let's see if we can get him to come by Davis!

As for school fundraisers I have just one more thing. If any parents would like to help out with our week's activities please feel free to contact me! I would love some extra help. My e-mail is: bryan.jones@cobbk12.org

One last thing, outside of the school fundraiser- My wife and I have registered a team to walk in the Great Strides Walk to benefit Cystic Fibrosis. The walk is scheduled to take place May 16th at GA Tech. If any one would like to go above and beyond we would love the support for our Great Strides team! Please stop by our team's web page:

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/BryanAndJenniferJones

Once you are there you can click to donate to our team OR you can sign up and walk with us! Again, if you have any questions please contact me!


Bryce says thanks for supporting CF!

Thank you!

Coach Jones

Spring at last..

It has been a little while since our last post. We just wrapped up our volleyball unit. It was awesome. We spent a couple days on some of the "striking skills" (overhead pass and forearm pass), and then we were able to get into some modified games. All the grade levels really got into the games, and they did an outstanding job working with their team mates.

Before that we flew through a decent number of other units- Dance, Jump Rope, and gymnastics. Once again, the Davis students did excellent in all three of these units. The dance unit was a nice surprise- Mrs. Lawson, who is the PE teacher at Keheley and former teacher here, came back for a surprise visit. She taught us some interesting dances! The students had a great time with her.

Up next in the world of PE- 4th and 5th graders are starting up Lacrosse. K-3rd graders are taking a little bit of time to review kicking, and get into some games that incorporate our skills!

We have a couple really big things to get some information out for-

1.) Field Day! Look for some info soon. Once again we will be looking for parent volunteers. With out you guys there is no way field day would be the success it has been over the last couple years!

2.) This one is especially important to me- we are going to be doing a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). All proceeds raised will go straight to the CFF and will be used for research, care, and treatment of those living with CF. You can check out their web site http://www.cff.org/ , and/or if you'd like check out my page on the Great Strides Walk- to benefit the CFF: http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/BryanAndJenniferJonesLook for more information about this as well, and please think about volunteering to help!

If you are interested helping out with either one of our events to come please e-mail me! at bryan.jones@cobbk12.org

thanks and look forward to hearing from you!
Coach Jones

U, N, S, O..........P?

As many of you know, this year, the K-2nd graders are using a new report card. It is a Standards-Based report card. It links the scored given to a more direct set of standards. I understand why the person who came up with it did…but man it sure caused some confusion the first time it was used.

I am going to take a second and explain this new report card, which is currently only used for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. 3rd, 4th and 5th your report card is just like it always was, for now- get ready cause it is going to change over the next couple years. OK, so here we go:

In the past (and currently for 3rd – 5th) we have used 2 grades for PE. The first grade was a conduct grade and the second was a participation grade. In each of those two categories, your child could get one of 4 scores: U- unsatisfactory, N- needs improvement, S- satisfactory, and finally O- outstanding. Seems easy enough right? I thought so too.

The new Standards-Based report card uses a different grading system. The Standards-Based report card, for PE, splits our child’s grade into 3 categories. Two of these categories are graded using the same scale: The Categories of “Demonstrates basic manipulative skills” and “Demonstrates and identifies basic locomotor skills” are scored on a 1-3 scale. Here is the official breakdown of the point values:

1- Limited or minimum progress toward meeting the standard
2- Progressing toward the standard
3- Consistent and successful progress toward meeting the standard

* If one of your child’s boxes is greyed out, or crossed out, and contains no score- this simply means that skill is not being assessed this 9 weeks.

The 3rd category on the new report card is “Learning Skills & Behaviors.” This is more of a conduct grade. This portion of the report card is assessed every 9 weeks. The possible scores are:
N- needs improvement (student does not display skills and behaviors that lead to success)
P- progressing (student is progressing; displays appropriate learning skills and behaviors most of the time)
S- successful (student displays appropriate learner skills and behaviors)

I know all of this seems a but confusing, but if you have any questions about your child’s grade please send me an e-mail, and I will be more than happy to answer your question!

bryan.jones@cobbk12.org

Thanks!
Coach Jones