Health/Physical Education

Greetings Students and Parents,

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! I am excited for another great year as part of the Tuba City Boarding School and Thunderbird Academy staff!

This school year will take us into "unchartered waters" as we embark on distance learning, which will feature our new educational learning platform, Schoology. I know you may be feeling a bit nervous and apprehensive, or even overwhelmed, but please rest assured we are here to help you every step of the way. We as teachers are still learning on the fly as well so we ask you stay patient with us, however, we'll always strive to provide you the best learning experience that we possibly can. The educational process may not look the same, but we will all do our best working collectively together, to make this school year a successful one for you.

In regards to content areas that will be taught during the first part of this school year, all seventh grade homeroom teachers will be teaching ELA (Reading & Writing) and Math content only at this time. Due to this, please note that Physical & Health education class will not occur until we return to in-person learning.

With that said, to provide you with health-oriented information during this time, I have put together a list of online educational resources for you to check out during your available time, if you choose to do so. These are not assignments and are definitely not required. The websites below are simply optional information that can be highly beneficial to you in learning more about PE/Health content. The links to these educational websites are provided below, with a quick overview about what each of them offer.

Kids Health

https://kidshealth.org/

Varsity Brands “Believe in You” Video Series

https://www.varsitybrands.com/believe-in-you

Nutrition Information from Choose My Plate

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/

One final recommendation for you all…try your best to establish a routine. Balance your academic learning with developing healthy habits that will help throughout the school year (and beyond!). You will receive a daily schedule that you need to follow each day. This is great way aid you in developing important time management skills. Remember, your 7th grade school year has officially started! Stay disciplined and avoid the temptation to waver from the daily schedule, because it will allow you to remain actively engaged with your learning each day. Also, be sure to perform important actions for your overall health and wellness. Here are a few easy things you can incorporate each day to get you started:

• Get 60 minutes of physical activity. Whether that is hiking, walking, jogging, doing work around your house, shooting some baskets, etc. You'll be sitting for long stretches of time with online learning, it is important for your BODY AND BRAIN to get enough physical activity each day. If you need ideas, I will try to provide some to you through our resources page as we go through the next few months or always feel free to contact me directly.

• Make healthy food choices by coloring your breakfast, lunch, and dinner plate with a variety of fruits, veggies, grains, and protein. Try to avoid sugar-filled and highly saturated fat foods. Think of nutrition as the fuel for your body's engine. The cleaner you eat by making good food choices, the better your body will feel and the more energy you will have.

• Stay hydrated! Drink atleast 10-12 glasses of water each day. Try to drink atleast two of those glasses of water immediately in the morning. You wake up in a state of dehydration from sleeping all night, and your body needs water right away to get you up and running!

• Get plenty of sleep (that means no Netflix show binging or excessive Fortnite playing!). Junior high aged students should be getting anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep each night.

These are only suggestions to help you as we begin our school year. As more information and updates are provided to us over the duration of our online learning experience, we will be sure to communicate that with you promptly. I'm eagerly looking forward to getting to know each and everyone of you. Let's have a fantastic 2020-2021 school year!

Stay Healthy and Stay Strong,

Mr. Riese