OAHPERD Journal

As 2022 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to share my gratitude for each and every one of you. The past few years have not been easy for any of us; whether you were teaching through an online platform, or trying to navigate through COVID with your family. However, I want you to know I am glad you have stayed the course.

Please take time during this holiday season to slow down, rest, and enjoy the moment. We often are planning for weeks ahead and miss what is right in front of us. We are in different seasons of our lives, but collectively we are working toward the same goal - keeping Oklahoma healthy and fit. Take some time to enjoy a hot cup of cocoa, read a good book, or enjoy the winter snow. Whatever it might be to bring peace to you, take time to do it! There is always tomorrow to get those lessons plans written.

When we come back in January, we have some exciting professional development opportunities for both physical education and health education. Tulsa area, we heard you loud and clear and are headed your way. Please make sure to register for these events and read about more in this edition of the journal.

As a board and council, we want to wish you all a happy holiday season and look forward to making 2023 a great one!

Warmest Regards,

Ianthi Shields

OAHPERD President

OAHPERD will be hosting an OPEN training at the University of Tulsa on January 28, 2023, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. This training is a great opportunity to learn new activities that you can incorporate into your physical education classes or before and after school programs for grades PreK-12th grade. Get registered for this training here!

To support the rollout of the Health Education Act, which will go into effect the 2023-2024 school year, OAHPERD is hosting a training called "Maximizing Your Time and Efforts When Teaching Health Education" featuring Dr. Susan Telljohann. You won't want to miss this great opportunity to learn about the best practices to teaching health education. There is limited seats so register now.

We had a great turnout for the OAHPERD Fall 2022 Convention. OAHPERD recognized several teachers with Teacher of the Year awards. See more about the awardees below. Here are a few pictures from the Make It Matter: 2022 OAHPERD Convention.

OAHPERD is proud to announce Mitsy Shaklee as the Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year. Mitsy has been a Physical Education Teacher at Hillcrest Elementary in Oklahoma City since 2016.

During her time at Hillcrest, Mitsy has introduced many programs like the walking club for students and staff, a martial arts program, adaptive physical education class, football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and track teams. Also, Mitsy is a mentor teacher for new teachers in the district and is a building team leader at her school.

One of her colleagues at Hillcrest said this about Mitsy, "Not only does she consistently provides students with an outstanding role model through her caring nature, healthy habits, good sportsmanship, and love for physical activity, but she also provides her colleagues with one through her leadership abilities, friendliness, and positive attitude."

Thank you, Mitsy for sharing your passion for physical education with your students, colleagues, and school community. Congratulations on your selection for OAHPERD’s Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year.

OAHPERD is proud to announce Erin Graeber as the Health Teacher of the Year. Erin's career began at Epperly Heights Elementary where she still works as the Physical Education Teacher today along with coaching the Del City High School's softball and baseball teams.

Erin uses resources from SHAPE America and Healthy Schools OK to provide a variety of health education lessons and activities into her physical education classroom. She is also working on obtaining funding to purchase additional materials to use in her classroom to enhance students knowledge of health skills and topics. Erin has been selected as "Teacher of the Month" at her school several times and currently serves as a team lead for the specials team at her school.

One parent had this to say about Erin, "Our first introduction began at an open house where my son, Alex eagerly pulled us to the gym to meet his favorite new teacher. The line was not short behind the many other families also waiting to meet her, and it was well worth the wait. The excitement from the children could only be matched by her excitement in explaining the amazing curriculum and plan of action for the school year. As the next five years of elementary education continued for Alex, Coach Graeber remained a constant and positive educator in his life. Many more open houses, sporting events, assemblies, and opportunities continued to show that she is so much more than just a teacher. My son calls her a second mom and I am honored to share this title with her. My son has been so fortunate that through his high school years he was able to maintain her guidance and mentorship through high school ball."

Thank you, Erin for sharing your passion for health education with your students, colleagues, and school community. Congratulations on your selection for OAHPERD’s Health Teacher of the Year.

Health and physical educators across the country — including SHAPE America’s National and District Teachers of the Year — are sharing top-notch ideas, resources and more!

Check out the latest videos on our YouTube channel:

• TOY Talk Tuesday, S3, Episode 4: The Power of Instant Activities in PE Classes. Paulo Ribeiro, SHAPE America’s 2022 National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, talks about the importance of integrating instant activities in PE classes. The use of instant activities contributes to students' learning including increasing engagement and motivation, improving students’ behavior and concentration, and maximizing MVPA. VIEW NOW
• Unplugged S4, Episode 1: National Physical Education Standards Task Force. SHAPE America CEO Stephanie Morris talks with Sally Jones, Brad Brummel, and Cory Dixon of SHAPE America’s National Physical Education Standards Task Force about where they are currently in the standards revision process (which began in 2021). VIEW NOW

• Blog Post: Teaching Lacrosse in Physical Education Using the New USA Lacrosse Curriculum

  The “fastest game on two feet” … baggataway … the creator’s game. No matter how you refer to it, lacrosse is a great game to teach your students in physical education class! READ MORE

Click here for the Elementary and Secondary Calendars in English and Spanish

Check out SPARK's Free Resources for Physical Education:

• 33 Things to Celebrate About SPARK on Our 33rd Birthday!
• SPARK Webinars: Instant Movement, Instant Joy!

• SPARK Blog: Meeting TEKS Standards with the SPARK Curriculum

• Check out the new updated SPARK Middle School info page

• SPARK App — World's Most Evidence-Based PE Curriculum in the Palm of Your Hands!

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