Syllabus

Physical Education, Grades 1-6, 7/8

Teachers: Mr. Ross

Email: rross@ascentclassical.org

Office: A163

Office Hours: Mr. Ross (TBD)

Class Description

At Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Colorado the Physical Education Class is taught in the classical model. Students will be instructed with the goal of “physical literacy”. Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life. Students will learn virtue and character through individual physical activity, team sports, and principles of physical fitness.

Class Goals

Students who engage in this class will

Gain positive motivation to engage in physical activity
Show virtue and moral character through physical activity
Develop increasing physical literacy skills
Develop skills for individual physical activity and team sports

Grades

Grades will be scored on a semester basis

Scholarship: 30%
Fitness Testing 15%
Run Club 15%
Fitness Journals 20%
Participation 20%

Semester Fitness Goal & Journal

Beginning this year students will devise and create an attainable physical goal for themselves. This goal should be hard to accomplish, but also attainable with hard work and perseverance. Students will be issued a fitness journal that will be used each Monday and Wednesday in class. These journals will be used to set personal goals for the Fitness Test, at home activity goals, and record laps for Run Club. In doing so the student will develop goal setting skills and display accountability to their goals.

Archer Run Club

This year I will be piloting a running enrichment program for Grammar School students. This will take place in class on Mondays and will be done with the intent of encouraging students to take part in cardiovascular activities. During a set time in class on Mondays students will have the opportunity to walk, jog, or run within our exercise space on campus. They will record their own laps using a simple counting system and record their laps in their fitness journals. Each quarter we will go over milestones and give out certificates for achievements and other awards.

Fitness Improvement Test (F.I.T.)

Each quarter, students will participate in a fitness improvement test that will be scored for a grade. The first test will be held in the third week of school and will be used as a baseline for future tests. The Scoring Categories will include:

A set distance run (1-2: ¼ mile, 3-4 ½ mile, 5-6:1 mile ⅞ 1.5 miles)
A strength test
A flexibility test
An agility test

Students will be scored according to their improvement upon their previous score.

Behavior and Participation

In accordance with the mission and values of Ascent, students will learn to display moral character and positively develop virtue through participation in physical activity. Students may earn up to 5 points per week for participation and 5 points for behavior. Behavior will be graded upon student’s interactions with classmates and teachers. Participation will grade student engagement and willingness to be active in class.

Star Achievements

Students will have the opportunity to earn fitness achievement stars to put on their fitness journals. These stars are divided into four categories

Blue Stars: Blue stars are awarded when students are able to improve their fitness test scores by a set amount: 5 for pushups and sit ups, 5 secs off of the run, etc.l.
Silver Stars: Silver stars are awarded to students who meet an average fitness standard on their fitness tests.
Gold Stars: Gold Stars are awarded with pomp and circumstance to students who are able to meet an exceptional fitness standard according to grade.
Purple Hearts: Purple heart stickers are awarded to students with the record times and scores in each testing category.

Behavior & Discipline

Students will be expected to display moral character and positive virtue in class. Recognizing the importance of this is key for student growth and development. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their actions and will be held accountable for their choice. Physical education will enact discipline actions for behavior infractions as thus:

1st action: Verbal Warning
2nd action: Diversionary Activity (this will include an activity away from the main group) & email home
3rd action: Call Home
4th action: Administrative Intervention

Office Referrals will be issued in the event of an egregious aggressive behavior act, such as a student striking another student or an act of reckless behavior that endangers the other students. For example, a student is throwing rocks in the air and the rocks hit another student resulting in an injury. Office Referrals will be sent to the Assistant Headmaster for discipline and reconciliation.

Weekly Virtue Trophy

Each week students will have the opportunity to compete as a cohort to win the Physical Education Virtue Award! This award will be given to the cohort that best demonstrates virtue and sportsmanship through their words and actions. The award will be a gold painted sword that the cohort will be able to have in their classrooms for an entire week. This is a highly coveted award and has shown excellent results for encouraging virtuous behavior.

Shoes and Dress Code

Students will be expected to wear athletic shoes to Physical Education every day except for formal days. Athletic shoes are critical for student comfort and freedom of movement, this also keeps nicer shoes from being torn up. On snowy or wet days students will be allowed to change into boots and winter coats or jackets for PE. It is critically important that students are dressed warmly during winter months, students that are not dressed for the weather will be sent to the front office to potentially call parents. Students who habitually do not bring appropriate clothing will see a loss in scholarship grade.

****Important note, PE will be conducted outside at most times with the exception of inclement weather, this includes: heavy rain, 60 mph winds, under 17 degree cold, extreme wind chill, etc*********

Students will be expected to follow the dress code at all times. Exceptions are discussed in the case of footwear above. Students should not bring dangling jewelry with them to class, this includes necklaces, bracelets, and dangly earrings. This is a safety concern. Heart rate monitors and step counters are allowed and encouraged provided they do not violate the technology policy.

Waivers and Sitouts

The purpose of Physical Education is to train the mind and body towards physical literacy of bodily health. That being said, students with medical needs will be accommodated according to their 504 or IEP’s. If a student needs to sitout based on a medical reason not in a 504 or IEP, they need to provide a doctor’s note to the Front Office.

Parent Communication

One of the best tools we have available for ensuring the growth and welfare of our students is communication between parents and teachers. Email is often the best way to communicate for normal concerns. For more urgent communication, phone calls can be scheduled. If a parent would like to schedule an in person meeting with a PE teacher, that can be done by emailing Dabria Tomlin at dtomlin@ascentclassical.org. It is strongly recommended that if a parent has a grievance or concern about a student or teacher, that they contact the teacher to resolve the issue before contacting Administration.