What do you want?

This week we touched briefly on vast array of workouts one can do in the weight room. Many of us think we have a idea of what the basic muscles are and how to use machines, but we want to learn to be more specific than that. I asked you to pick a goal (get bigger, get faster, lose weight etc.) and then select ten activities you thought would be beneficial to your goal. Yesterday you tested out your work out, were asked to record it (weight, reps, sets, and the order of activities), and now I want you to reflect on your choices.

1) Please describe your workout. What activities did you choose? What order did you do them in? How much weight? How many reps/sets?

2) Why? This is the most important piece. I want to know what you are thinking when you decide what to do in you workout. What previous knowledge, or newly acquired information are you basing your choices on? Where else could you have researched some specifics or grabbed new ideas for your goal? Have you tried Youtube?

What about the App Store on your phone? 

How closely did your choices align with your overall goal? Why did you choose the order, reps, sets etc? Explain your entire thought process.

3) Now that it's done, evaluate your workout? Did it go well? Was is tough enough? Easy enough? Was it fun? Did it do what you thought it was going to do? What didn't go well? Would you change anything now? What would you remove, add, adjust?

When you are done, go check your comments on your old posts. Then go comment of 5 other peoples work out posts.

THEN: See Neuf about your parent comments on your report card blog.

PE mid point Self Reflection and Mark

Along with the post you made for your interim (please reread it to refresh your memory), I would like you to consider the following questions (from our regular interview format) and then write a second response detailing your efforts thus far AND this time including a percentage you feel is appropriate and an explanation as to why. The more honest and thoughtful your post is the better.

Once your own post is completed comment on your 5 friends posts about their mark as well. Be polite but honest with them about their goals, thoughts, and self assessment. This is sensitive territory so leave the jokes aside and be serious about your own efforts and those of your peers. This is a chance to publicly show/share with admin, parents, peers, and me how you see PE so far.

I need to see your parents have read this by having them post a comment on your report card post, OR having them email me that they have read this (neufeld_r@surreyschools.ca), OR having them call me at the school to chat about it.

Finding Friends

Now that we are all feeling confident about our own behaviour (most of you wrote about your own personal effort in your report cards) the next step in our personal and class growth is to start to understand the intertwined dynamic between your individual energy and skills and the needs and energy of the group. To do that we need to start to put ourselves in others shoes, and to do that we need to start to understand what others are thinking. In that spirit you job today to is to add 4 classmates blogs to your reading list (the same way you added my blog). Read through their posts, comment on one post for each friend. Then read through your friends comments on your posts. When you're done we are going to help set up the gym for parent teacher interviews.

60 Seconds of You (Discovery Time)

I saw a great idea today from @hughtheteacher who got it from @deanshareski who got it from who knows where (I wasn't invited to his party last month).

For our Second assignment, which may take us into November as we are doing a Halloween "Clue" one week. For "Get to know you" round 2 we are each going to create a 60 second video. Easy right? Here's the catch... it has to be made up of 60 individual one second video clips. They should each be unique but work together to tell your Sulli story. When I watch it I want to get a sense of what you and your day are like at Sullivan.

We will spend a day or two planning out the video, and another day or two shooting and editing it. Sometime before Xmas we should be able to post on our blogs and watch each others videos. :)

I want you to think about what makes you a unique part of our Sulli community and what your place in our school is... then try to capture it in a short story through video.

There will be troubles and technical issues along the way but the reward will be worth it. :)

Here is an example.

http://www.psdblogs.ca/divisionprincipal/2012/10/11/project-idea-60-second-story/

A ... no... A++

It is that time of the semester again when teachers dutifully take out our marks books and report to students and parents their progress in our classes. Like learning, this has historically been a passive activity... where you as students simply receive your judgements in the form of percentages and letter grades.

At Sullivan there has been different philosophy brewing for several years and most of you have at least experienced the interview process we use to co-construct your grade. For those new to our school, here is a brief summary of what I'm on about.

You get to choose your own grade at the end of this course. It will be through a review/interview/portfolio process where you will be asked to demonstrate your efforts, understanding, growth, learning and goals to me and your peers.  While some students have trouble with this responsibility, most of our student body has embraced the opportunity to reflect on their own efforts and be a major part of the conversation on assessment.

Your next blog post will be your first chance at honest, critical self assessment from the reporting stand point. You need to write an entry that reviews your first six weeks efforts in: attendance, preparedness, consistency of effort, intensity of effort, respect for others, areas of weakness and strength, and your goals for the rest of the semester.

The more detailed and specific you are the better. Providing evidence (photos, videos, stories) is the best way of substantiating claims.

This post will serve as your interim report and will be commented on by me and your parents. You need not provide a grade, but rather report on your learning.

Be real, be positive, be ready to improve starting today.

Excuses

We all have stuff going on: work, friends, school, and physical issues. Sometimes your life does get in the way of PE class and that's okay. The problem occurs when we let ourselves accept small obstacles as big ones. When a small cough becomes an "I'm too sick"... when a long day becomes "I'm too tired" or "I have a sore leg". If we are being honest with ourselves, most of our problems are small ones that can be overcome with a small amount of mental desire. What is our biggest excuse?

Self Regulated

We have had AB partner fitness and Mr. Ranu as a sub. Both afforded us the opportunity to decide if we are going to choose behaviors and effort that reflects an internal motivation, or to choose to continue to look for excuses and motivation from others. As we change the meaning of senior PE we need to be honest when we reflect on our own self regulation. Please post a reflection on your own thought process and personal motivation this past week.

Grinding

Today we took nearly 200 Sullivan students to beautiful North Vancouver for fitness. In what for some must have been the most physically exerting and exhausting thing they have ever done, we hiked 2.5 miles nearly straight up, ascending 2800 nature filled feet to the top of Grouse Mountain. I hadn't done the grind in nearly 10 years but set a goal of 50 minutes to the top. Apparently I'm not 22 anymore and it took me 56. Still stoked to be under an hour and very impressed by the effort and times of all the various fitness levels in our senior classes. How did you experience the "grind"? What did you see and feel? Learn anything about yourself?

PE 11/12 Portfolio Requirements

The purpose of using technology this year in PE is to continue the process of transferring the ownership and responsibility of learning to you the students.

The more you put into it the more you will get out.

You can store/attach you evidence (pictures, videos, writing, logs, stats) any way you like but linking them here will allow me to check in, provide suggestions, and work with you towards your goals.

Please follow this blog and I will add yours to my reading list. You can comment on any of my posts here, write your own posts, and link to other evidence on FB, Twitter etc. as you create your ongoing portfolio.

If you are new to tech, congrats on getting here, and don't worry, it becomes second nature very quickly.
Please feel to ask questions about how, where and why we are posting different things. I will help as best I can whenever I can.

For now... Practice posting by getting your blog named (simple and easy to recognize names... No grillz and chillz) and start writing down your beep test baseline, how you felt, and your finishing heart rate. :) if you get brave you can write a few sentences about the hill run and capture the flag too... Or about this Portfolio piece... Or anything really. It's your blog. We want to capture your efforts and growth this year for us to recall and share in January.

I have enjoyed our start and been thankful for your honesty and effort so far. It's Go Time!

Week of Sept. 10

Capture the Flag, 30 minute continuous Pond Run, TOC, blogger, and 4km community run.

How did you feel your pacing skills were? Did they differ on the pond run as opposed to the community run?

Did your effort and attitude change throughout the week? Why?

First weeks Jitters

PE 11/12

Week of Sept. 4, 2012

Introductions, Hill Intervals and Beep Test

We are setting a baseline, figuring where we are so we can set better goals for where we want to go. Be honest... Be brave... Start learning now.