Have a great break everyone!

I'm looking forward to the fun and exciting new year at St. Jude's.
We will jump right into intramurals and the grade 5-8's will be going curling at the Acton Curling Club.

Best wishes for 2013!!!

Rock Climbing!!!

What an amazing experience we had at Rock and Chalk in Newmarket.

I was impressed with the improves of the students throughout the day!

Game, set, and match

We had a fun last day at club meadowvale, students were divided up into teams and played matches against each other.

Tomorrow the grade 5-8 will be travelling to rock and chalk for indoor rock climbing!!!!!! Please wear your gym uniform and bring your lunch.

Serve it up

We had a great day at club Medowvale today. We learned how to serve, which you could argue is the most important part of playing tennis.

Tomorrow we will have a mini tournament. I'm excited to see the students competitive side come out on the court.

One and done

Due to Christmas Concert rehearsals I only had the sk's for phys Ed today. We continued to work on our hand eye coordination with throwing and catching exercises.

Reminders:
Grades 5-8 will be at club meadowvale playing tennis Tuesday and Wednesday.

After school programs are done for 2012 but will resume the first week back in the new year!

Match Point

We had another great day at Club Meadowvale! Students continue to improve their skills the more court time we get.

We continued to work on hand eye coordination in JK and SK classes. Students are reminded to keep their eyes open when the ball is coming towards them.

We will be back at Club Meadowvale Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday will are going rock climbing!! I know the students are looking forward to that.

After school activities are done for 2012

This was the last week for after school activities until they start again January 7th.

Thank you for all your participation, if anyone has any ideas for an after school program in the new year for Wednesday's please let me know!

Tennis anyone?

Today the grade 5-8's went to Club Meadowvale to play tennis in their 4 court tennis dome.  I was impressed with the way the students behaved and played tennis.

JK, SK and grade 1's worked on their hand eye coordination with throwing and catching activites.
I like the improvement  I've seen over the past few days.

The grade 3/4's continued with their fitness tests!

Keep up the good work!

Theta victory!

Theta beat zeta today! Good game by sides

Standings
Kappa 2
Theta 1
Zeta 0

3 on 3 soccer for Miss Polands class tomorrow

Theta victory!

Theta beat zeta today! Good game by sides

Standings
Kappa 2
Theta 1
Zeta 0

3 on 3 soccer for Miss Polands class tomorrow

Tennis tomorrow!

Good afternoon!

We continued to work on the fitness test with grade 7/8. Flexibility and their reach are good across the students but we will work on our balance throughout the year.

Grade 1 and jk's worked on hand eye coordination with throwing and catching drills. Students are reminded to keep their eyes open when the ball is coming towards them.

The grade 2's had a fun class skipping and the sk classes played cooperative games.

Reminder tomorrow, grade 5-8 students will be going to club meadowvale to play tennis. Please remember your permission forms and gym clothes. Also bring a racquet if you own one!

Kappa victory again!!

Kappa over Theta 23-16!!

Good game by both sides

Kappa has a 2-0 record!

Tomorrow is theta vs zeta!

Fitness tests continued

Today we continued tracking our fitness levels with the shuttle run and how many push-ups the students could do in 2 minutes. Kindergarten and grade 1 students also worked on the bounce pass with a basketball. I will continue to work on their hand eye coordination in the up coming classes before the Christmas break. I feel this is an area that needs attention in many of the students and is an important skill to have.

Kappa Victory!

25-15 kappa victory over zeta!!!!

Great game everyone!!

Day 1!!!!!!

Good afternoon!

It's great to be back teaching physical education!

Over the next few classes I will be conducting fitness tests to see how the students compare to the rest of North America. I'm using many of the components from the FitnessGram program developed by the Cooper Institute. It was developed for teachers and designed for students from K-12. My goal is to see an improvement in the students fitness levels over the next few months.

I'll be making daily posts and updating the intramural schedule and standings.

Keep fit and have fun!!!!

Intramural Schedule

Tentative schedule



Volleyball is open for grades three and up. The ball is allowed to bounce once between hits and has to cross the net after three hits. A player can only serve 5 times in a row.


Tuesday first recess
Zeta vs kappa volleyball

Wednesday first recess
Kappa vs theta volleyball

Thursday first recess
Theta vs zeta volleyball

Points will be given for a win, year long tally will be kept on my blog

Friday first recess
Grade 2, 3 on 3 soccer
Theta vs zeta

Dance Class

Parents of students in Ms. Farmer's dance class, this week due to parent-teacher interviews, class will take place Wednesday, December 5th. We apologize for the confusion but Ms. Farmer wants to get as much rehearsal time in before the Christmas concert as she can.

Thanks!

Intramurals are coming

10 day countdown

Medieval Times

Happy Monday Everyone!

I’m excited to announce our new unit of inquiry is Medieval Times! This fascinating unit will be informative and a lot of fun for students. Today we created a KWL chart and the class has many questions we hope to get answered over the next couple of weeks.

We started the day off with a Math Makes Sense unit on multiplication and division. The MMS 3 lesson was on relating multiplication and addition. The MMS 4 lesson was on skip counting.

Students are reminded to bring their gym clothes everyday and to not waste time getting changed! We are wasting too much time, lining up for gym and getting changed. Students were introduced to the basics of volleyball.

`The arithmetic test went well today, students are reminded that an Arithmetic test is NOT a race. After music and french we worked on our KWL chart for medieval times. Due to the weather we had a fun indoor recess playing keep up with the volleyball and bump. We ended the day reviewing capitalization and punctuation in our language 3 books.

Reminders:
Parent Teacher interview forms are due asap
Scholastic orders are due next monday.


Homework:
MMS 3 p. 74 & 75
MMS 4 p. 54 & 55 and the handout sheet for question 5 if not completed in class
Language P 44 & 45
Spelling - write out list words

Successful Terry Fox Run Fundraising!

Kudos to the teachers and volunteers most especially to the students who participated on the St Jude’s annual Terry Fox Run fundraising! The students were able to showcase their cardiovascular endurance for this event.  

Over this week we have been doing some obstacle courses in our P. E class. Obstacle courses are always a ton of fun and are a great way to incorporate various activities whether you do them inside or out. Work with what you have including your kids creativity. The options of what can be done are ENDLESS! Here is just one small example of what the kids were up to at our gym class.


1) Run for 15 meters
2) 5 Burpees
3) Run for another 10 meters
4) 5 push-ups
5) Run for 15 meters (sprint)
6) 5 Jump squats
7 Cool down (walking)


Hope you enjoy tyring it out with your kids this weekend.

Respectfully,
Mr. Rojas

Strenght and Flexibility Training

September 20, 2012

Are you interested to know how to make health and fitness a part of your life? Specifically, do you have questions about strength and flexibility training and how it fits into an overall exercise program? What exactly is strength training? What is flexibility training? These are our current focus in our gym class for the next couple of weeks.

When it comes to health and fitness, “training” refers to the process of improving one’s body and mind. Through various exercises, sports, and other physical activities, you can “train” your body into shape. Likewise, through meditation, quiet thinking, and certain mind-centering activities such as yoga or tai chi, it’s possible to “train” your mind to settle and relax, to reach a state of comfort and rest.

Strength and flexibility are two important and related components of overall fitness. Strength training leads to improvements in strength—the ability of your muscles to exert force and endure exercise. Flexibility training leads to improvements in flexibility—your ability to stretch, bend, and reach.

So how are strength and flexibility related? The more you increase your flexibility, the more you can potentially increase your strength. And the stronger and more stable your muscles become, the more likely it is you can push the limits of your flexibility. It takes strength to be flexible, and it takes flexibility to be strong!

Lets keep moving!

Respectfully yours,

Mr. Rojas

More Reasons to Keep our Children Engage in Physical Activities

September 14, 2012

It is widely acknowledged that physical activity is essential to children’s growth and development. Regular physical activity can have a positive impact on students’ physical, mental, and social well-being. In particular, physical activity is likely to have an impact on students’ achievement, readiness to learn, behaviour, and self-esteem. Positive experiences with physical activity at a young age also help lay the foundation for healthy, productive lives. Research also indicates that children are in danger of developing serious diseases associated with obesity, which can result from a lack of physical activity. The following are examples taken from the research on this subject:

“Studies demonstrate the positive effects daily physical activity has on student performance and academic achievement in terms of memory, observation, problem-solving and decision-making, as well as significant improvements in attitudes, discipline, behaviours and creativity.”

– J. J. Keays and K. R. Allison,“The Effects of Regular Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity on Student Outcomes: A Review”, Canadian Journal of Public Health 86, no. 1, (January/February 1995), p. 64.

“Between 1981 and 1996, the number of obese children in Canada between the ages of seven and 13 tripled. This is contributing to a dramatic rise in illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and some cancers.  Many young people do not have the opportunity to be physically active every day . . .”

– 2004 Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Report: Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives (Toronto: Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario, 2004), p. 2.

“School-based healthy eating and physical activity programs provide a great opportunity to enhance the future health and well-being of children because they can reach almost all children and may (1) enhance learning and provide social benefits, (2) enhance health during critical periods of growth and maturation, (3) lower the risk for chronic diseases in adulthood, and (4) help to establish healthy behaviors at an early age that will lead to lifelong healthy habits.”

– Paul J.Veugelers and Angela L.Fitzgerald,“Effectiveness of School Programs in Preventing Childhood Obesity: A Multilevel Comparison”, American Journal of Public Health 95, no. 3 (March 2005), p. 434.

“Analysis of data from the CCHS [Canadian Community Health Survey], the CFLRI [Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute’s] Physical Activity Monitor, and the HBSC [Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children] survey indicates that less than half of Canadian children and youth are physically active on a daily basis to a degree of energy expenditure that meets the guidelines for healthy growth and development.” 

– Active Healthy Kids Canada, Dropping the Ball: Canada’s Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, 2005 ( Toronto, 2005), p. 7.

  Have a great weekend!

Mr. Rojas

Bricks for KIDS

A reminded to all the parents that registration is still open for bricks for kids, please register at www.bricks4kidz.com/missoak 

Train Strength at a Young Age for Better Sport Performance

September 11, 2012

Begin strength training at a young age to perform better, avoid injury, and improve motor performance. Research shows that strength and preparatory plyometric training are appropriate for kids, and starting them training young will allow them to accumulate training years so that they reach a high level athleticism sooner. 

Whether you are a young athlete with dreams of competitive glory, a coach of kids who have a passion for sports, or a parent with sedentary kids who need to learn how to move better, strength training is the answer! Research shows that youth are highly trainable and the best way to help them improve power output is to gain strength and coordination. 

Youth athletes in football, soccer, track, hockey, tennis, basketball, swimming, and especially contact sports will perform best if they posses sufficient strength to overcome and accelerate body mass. Even if a child does not decide to play competitive sports in high school, why not give them the chance to develop motor skills, and the ability to “move well” by helping improving neuromuscular strength and practicing jumping, running, hopping, and skipping?

Two recent studies show that strength training is appropriate for youth of all ages, and a wealth of evidence suggests they can start performing age-appropriate training as early as age 7 or 8. For example, one study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research had youth soccer players ranging in age from 11 to 19-years-old perform periodized strength training programs for two years. The youngest players (under 13) did technique-oriented training of traditional free weight exercises including the squat using very moderate loads. The older youth trained the same free weight exercises with heavier loads. 

By the end of the study, compared to a control group of soccer players, the trainees had 40 to 50 percent higher 1RMs in the squat, indicating the effectiveness of strength training for youth. Researchers highlight the need to accumulate training years and learn technique in order to achieve peak levels of strength for the more competitive high school and college sporting years. By starting at 7 or 8, youth can have 10 years of training behind them at age 17. 

A second study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that plyometric training is safe and will improve neuromuscular strength, which translates into better sports performance. Researchers found that kids aged 8 to 14 who took part in low-volume plyometric training improved jump height, running speed, and their ability to perform coordinated movements like running while throwing a ball. 

This research group suggests that plyometric training for youth be done one to three times a week with a relatively low volume of jumps (as low as 20 foot touches up to 120 touches per session) depending on the intensity of the training. Avoid depth jumps done off of a box, especially for youth who are undergoing growth spurts. Use what we know about periods of “accelerated adaptation” to guide programming. 

For example, for boys, ages 10 to 11, age 13, and then ages 15 to 16 are considered “windows” in which youth will adapt to training very quickly. There is typically a decrease in strength and neuromuscular performance from age 11 to 12 and from 13 to 14, due to what is termed “adolescent awkwardness.” This doesn’t mean training needs to be discontinued, just that decreases in strength or performance are natural during maturation, and should be accounted for. If a trainee or parent is concerned, the information can be communicated to lessen worries about decreased performance. 

   

Take away the understanding that strength and plyometric training is appropriate and ideal for kids as long as it is programmed and taught appropriately. Training should be serious but enjoyable, and begin with a focus on learning technique, improving movement patterns and the basic skills of running, jumping, throwing, and hopping. 

See you at the gym!

Mr. Rojas 

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References

McKay, D., Henschke, N. Plyometric Training Programs Improve Motor Performance in Prepubertal Children. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2012. 46, 727-728.

Good evening!

September 10, 2012

Welcome back parents and students to our 2^nd week of our school fitness blog. P.E classes are very important in the improvement not only for the students overall fitness, but it aims to develop their academic skills, self-esteem and teamwork. Continuing this week the students will learn on how to develop their hand-eye coordination abilities, endurance, as well as gross motor skills which will be perform through a series of exciting and dynamic activities as well as additional proper stretching before and after our activities.

Here are some of the workout and exercises that you and your kids can do at home:

Skipping rope

Leapfrogs

Brisk walking around your block

Stretching

Make sure to keep yourself always hydrated during, and after your fun activities!

Respectfully yours,

Mr. Rojas

Lunch Forms posted!

Workout updates

September 7, 2012

Greetings,

The first couple of days the students have been acquainted on some of the basic components of fitness, which includes appropriate warm-ups before we begin our games and activities, and proper stretching (for the improvement of flexibility) before and after exercising.

In addition, the students have been learning about body awareness. For the first couple of weeks the students and I will be working on improving on cardiovascular strength as well as simple ways to build up the overall fitness.

Exercise for the week:

Jump squats

Stationary Lunges

Step-ups

Frog leaps

Will keep you more posted for our more gym workouts!

Respectfully,

Mr. Rojas

Bricks For Kids

Back by popular demand Bricks for Kids will be returning September 10th!


To register, please visit www.bricks4kidz.com/missoak and click on “Register Now!”

A flyer will be going home tomorrow

Also please get the milk, pizza, hot dog, cheese and yogurt orders in ASAP.

Welcome to P.E Class of Mr. Rojas

Greetings,

Welcome back parents and students to school year 2012-2013! As for some parents and students who know me as part of the St Jude's Academy staff from the previous school year as Teacher's Assistant, and this school year I have the honor to work with Mr. Browning to be part of the Physical Education teaching team.

As for my background, I have a Master of Science in Education Major in Elementary Teaching from Medaille College,  (Buffalo State NY).  On the other hand, my enthusiasm in sports came from my 11 years of competitive swimming career in the Philippines and was a part of the National team as well.

Furthermore, I have been in the industry of health and fitness for 9 years here in Toronto, working primarily as a Personal Trainer at various gyms and with personal clients as well.  That being mentioned, I would like to be able to share my knowledge and skills to the students of St Jude's Academy. I would like to emphasize and focus on the importance of keeping a sound mind, and sound body.  

As the first day of vigorous gym class, I introduced some simple workout to the students, starting with basic cardio workout and stretching. We also did some invigorating jump- squats, stationary lunges and burpees, and what is gym class with out having fun at the end!

If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me through my e-mail or see me at the school at your most convenient time.

Respectfully,

Mr. Rojas

Microballers Basketball

We are excited to offer the Microballers basketball program after school.

Please visit http://www.developmentfirstbasketball.com/ for more information. Under the Microballers tab click the Mississauga location for registration information. The after school session will run from 4:30- 5:30 and the microballers from 6-7 and 7-8 on Wednesday evenings.

More information to follow.

thanks! 

Track and Field Day

Track and Field day was a huge success! A big thank you to all the parents who helped out. The weather cooperated and the students had a blast. Winners will be announced at graduation!

DODGEBALL CHAMPS!

Congratulations to Kappa students in Miss Chang's class who in a gruesome best of seven series defeated the skilled Zeta students of Miss Elliott's class. 

Consolation champions are Miss Elliott's Theta students who knocked off Miss Chang's Theata students in a close best of a five match. 

Winners of the Toliet Bowl Cup are the Kappa students of Miss Elliott's class. 

Thank you to all students who participated in intramurals this year at St. Jude's!!!! 

Track and field day info

Parents please send extra water, sunscreen and a hat with your kids tomorrow as its supposed to be a warm day.  Below is a schedule of events and a diagram of how the park will be set up. The JK's and SK's will be finished much earlier than the rest of the school.

Schedule
12:30	JK bean bag	SK Standing long jump	Grade 1-3 60 meter	Grade 4-8 200 meter
1:00	SK bean Bag	JK standing long jump	Grade 4-8 60 meter	Grade 1-3 200 meter
1:30	SK 40 meter dash	Grade 1-3 long jump	Grade 4-8 Shot put
2:00	JK 40 meter dash	4-8 Shot put / long jump	Grade 1-3 1 lap
2:30	Grade 4-8 3 laps	Grade 1-3 Shot put
3:00	800 meter relay house event

Track and Field Day. May 25th

View Larger Map

St. Jude's Track and Field day will take place at Meadow Green Park about a 10 minute walk from the school.  The events are scheduled to start at 12:30 and go until 3:15. The JK and SK events will end at 2:30. Parents are welcome to come out and cheer on the Athletes!!

St. Jude's Golf Program

Today the grade 4-8's went to Back Nine HD Golf (http://www.back-nine.ca/) in Mississauga. Being the first of five times we kept it simple today and worked on our fundamentals by trying to break glass on the buildings. As the students progress they will be playing the selection of twenty-three courses the facility offers. 

Bricks 4 kidz

Due to the overwhelming success of the Bricks 4 Kidz demo last week we are happy to announce starting May  24th we will be offering the program after school.

Please see the information sheet going home with the students today and in the e-mail from Ms. Brasil.

To register, please visit www.bricks4kids.com/missoak and click on the "Sign up NOW" link.

Brick for kidz

Thursday May 10th, 12 lucky students will be able to participate in a free robotics lego building session and showcase the structure to the rest of the school. The first 12 students to make a comment on this blog post will be allowed to participate in this exciting opportunity.   

Track & Field Day

I'm excited to be organizing the St. Jude's Track & Field day on May 25th. Details on the events will follow but if any parents who like to volunteer timing the events I would greatly appreciate it. Please contact me via email rbrowning@stjudesacademy.com or come see me after school! It'll  be a good qualifier for the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio.

DODGEBALL

The final bracket has been posted in front of A1 on the cork board. Be sure to check out what houses are playing and come out and support your house!

With all three houses represented in the brackets it'll be action pack wrap up to the tournament!

Swimming

After five great weeks of swimming lessons at Erin Meadows Community Center our final week will be our FUN lesson!! Students in grade 4 through 8 do NOT forget your bathing suit, goggles and towel on Thursday May 3rd or you'll miss out on all the FUN

Post from Mr. Meneses

Okay folks. I've been assisting wherever I can with the basketball coaching, training and skills development of our St Judes B-Ball team. This post is an older post obviously. But I wanted to comment on the Basketball program this year in general, specifically today's tourney at Bronte College in Mississauga. We played 3 games from 9am till 12:30pm. Against 2 other teams who showed, whom we never faced. Despite the loss of every game. I just wanted to say, for a team that has only been exposed to the game only this year. These kids showed a valiant effort of play and improvement, and constant strive to perform. Parents, I am so proud of these kids for starting out at ZERO....and earning a strong 12pts in their last game. This was the highest score ever achieved by our kids this year, in Basketball. Their last game was the most exciting since we were up 10pts. most of the game, till the 2nd half. And, kept the other team from scoring for a long time into the later part of the game. However, our teams confidence, and fatigue started to show. Can you blame them? 2 back to back games, a break, then the final game. But, they did their best, and both Coach Browning and myself are very very proud of what was accomplished today. We saw a tremendous improvement with every player, with confidence, skills, and most of all, hunger for the ball! Defensively St. Judes's is strong! As I've always said to the kids, it's not about the points here. Its about doing the best with what was taught to them in such a short time. They continue to surprise us every game they played. Great Job St. Judes Basketball! Keep your head up! and continue to improve! Key Play makers today: Adrian, Kingsley,Amhet, Rory, Jude, Cadance, Porvie, Frederick. Key Assists: Temi, Julia, Jude, Rory, Frederick, Cadance. Basically everyone had a huge part in making key plays and points today. You guys geld as a team today! Congrats!!!


Sincerely, Assistant Parent Coach Mr. Meneses

GLEN EDEN

We had another great Monday with blue skies and smiles at Glen Eden. I noticed some great improvement with all of the students, especially with the beginners! I think everyone is looking forward to Monday February 27th to go again.

SKI TRIP REMINDER

REMINDER for the grade 4 to 8's. On monday February 6th the St. Jude's buses will be leaving for Glen Eden at 7:15am!!! We need to get there early so we can maximize the time on the hill. If you wish to take your child directly to Glen Eden for 8am the address is 5234 Kelso Road, Milton, Ontario. Please send me an email rbrowning@stjudesacademy.com if you are doing so.

Basketball Exhibition game against Sherwood Heights

For parents of the students who made the U-12 co-ed basketball team we have an exhibition game against Sherwood Heights at 12:40 on Thursday Feb 2nd. The address is 5870 Kennedy Rd Mississauga,  if you want to come and support.

SKI TRIP FORMS

Parents of grade 4-8 students please bring back the ski/snowboard trip forms so we can ensure the rental process moves smoothly. We will be going to Glen Eden February 6, 13 and 20th. All three days we will be starting at 8am to ensure we maximize our time on the hill!!

If you have any questions feel free to talk to me after school or email rbrowning@stjudesacademy.com

thanks!

Dance Registration

To clear up any "U GOT DANCE" registration confusion. You can register your student 3 ways: online, by phone or submitting a form to the school. Every student received a registration form last week. The picture is of the registration section of the form that went home. Thanks!

CURLING

Yesterday the grade 4 to 8's went to their first of four curling outings at the Acton Curling Club. Thanks to the volunteers from the curling rink for their helpful instruction!