Hi everybody:
I have
great news this month -- SPARK has launched our new website! Please visit
www.sparkpe.org and tell us how you like it (email your
feedback to spark@sparkpe.org). We hope you'll love our new look, enjoy the easy navigation, and come
back to visit us time and time again for the latest and
greatest.
You might remember that a few
months back I introduced our friends at School Specialty (www.schoolspecialty.com). As
time passes, you'll see School Specialty more and more in association with SPARK
-- and that's a good thing! They are the nation's leader in the education
marketplace (everything from science curriculum
to desks and office supplies) and their support means SPARK is STRONG for
YOU.
Thanks
in advance for helping us spread the good news on our new website with your
friends and colleagues.
Be
well, |
Where is Health?
By Dr. Jim Sallis
Where
is health in the debate over health care reform? The mass media debate
is almost completely about improving health care coverage, reducing
health care costs, and paying for the increased coverage. There is a
great deal of media attention to the proposed public option for
insurance, and we hear a lot from hospital groups, insurance companies,
and the pharmaceutical industry about what the proposals would do to
their businesses. But people's health is virtually absent from the mass
media debate; an afterthought at best. Every so often there is a
passing mention of prevention or enhanced primary care, but no
explanation of what that might mean.
Where is health in the Congressional debates? Believe it or not, health is present in discussions of preventing disease to both...
(This is an excerpt from the latest SPARK Blog. Click Here to read the rest of this article)...
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Don't Miss Our October Webinar:
"Count Me In!"
Strategies That Engage ALL Students
Do you face the challenge each year of
motivating some students to participate in your physical education
class? You know who they are, the members of the "I don't care" club;
the "Why do we have to run?" gang; the "My mom said I don't have to do
PE today" crew?
Then join our next SPARK webinar and learn
strategies that get ALL students off the bench and into the game.
There are no right fielders in this program, it's inclusive, active,
and fun! Attendees will learn how to:
- Create an environment that students feel comfortable participating in
- Modify activities so all students can be active and engage at their own level
- Utilize differentiated instruction to address individual learning styles
And leave the webinar with access to FREE lesson plans you can use with your students the next day!
When: Wednesday, October 21st at 3:00 pm Pacific Time
(Note -- the SPARK Webinars are now the 3rd Wed. of every month -- Principle of 3's!)
Who: K-12 physical
education specialists, K-6 classroom teachers, after school youth
leaders, early childhood educators, parents and school and recreation
administrators
Duration: 45 minutes
Cost: Free!
Registration: Click Here to register
Click Here for recordings of previous SPARK webinars __________________________________________________
SPARK Program Recognized for
Combating Childhood
Obesity
GREENVILLE, Wis., Sept. 15, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
School Specialty's (Nasdaq:SCHS) research-based SPARK(R) program has been identified as a successful model for combating childhood obesity by The HSC Foundation. The Washington, DC-based health care organization issued a report entitled,"Fighting Obesity: What Works, What's Promising," and the SPARK program was one of the models identified as having produced tangible success in addressing what Foundation President and CEO Thomas Chapman referred to as "the obesity epidemic."
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Celebrity Navy Doctor to Lead 420-mile
Bike Ride Across Pennsylvania
(and SPARK's own Ellen Ornsby to join!)
The Health Ride will follow the official PennDot S Bike Route map along a 415
mile route. The kick-off celebration will be on Oct. 4 and the ride will
conclude on Oct. 10 at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art.
As the Health
Ride travels across Pennsylvania, Navy Lt. Commander Dr. Andy Baldwin will be
leading assemblies at selected schools. The focus of this series of special
events will be to inform and educate parents and teachers on the issue of
childhood obesity. Andy's presentations will offer ideas on improving the health
and eating habits of children in an interactive and fun way that will ensure the
lessons connect with the audience.
SPARK's own Ellen Ormsby will ride
alongside Dr. Andy Baldwin for 415 miles so she can present SPARK to each school
site. The pair will lead SPARK activities to ensure everyone gets active. The
schools chosen were selected by the Center For Nutrition And Activity Promotion
Center at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.
Click Here for the Health Ride schedule to make sure you catch them along the way!
Tune in to
Facebook and Twitter to hear from Ellen as she updates us on her ride! ____________________________________________________
NFL
Network Launches 2009 National
"Keep Gym in School" Campaign
Responding to warnings that record rates of childhood obesity and related
diseases could mean the next generation will be the first in 200 years to have
shorter life-spans than their parents, NFL Network today kicked off the second
year of Keep Gym in School at PS/IS 126 Manhattan Academy of Technology
on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
As part of the league's NFL PLAY 60 youth health
and fitness campaign, Keep Gym in School is NFL Network's comprehensive
national program to boost fitness and Physical Education in America's middle
schools.... Click Here to read more
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Modifying Activities So Everyone Can be
Active
Every teacher has
students who aren't able to fully engage in each lesson because of large class sizes, having
little or no equipment, or the requirement to compete with more dominant
students. However, it is critical all
students receive the opportunity to practice movement skills and accumulate enough minutes in MVPA to gain the health benefits.
This month
SPARK is providing three strategies to level the playing field:
1) Minimize Lines-
Instead of having 3 groups of 10 with a ball, have 10 groups of
3: everyone will have more opportunities to practice and be active. And, give
students something to do while in line (e.g., stretches, marching in place, juggling scarfs, hula hooping, etc.)
2) Use Non-Elimination Games- Plan activities that encourage movement and
do not eliminate students! For example, in dribble keep away, if your ball is knocked out, you retrieve it and rejoin the game.
3) Everyone is It- In a tag game, use more taggers to ensure
everyone is involved, or do a variation where everyone is it! For sports, decrease the number of players in each group and require everyone in the group to gain possession of the ball before a
player can attempt to score. For an example of this strategy, see the SPARK activity, "3 Catch
Game." Click Here for the 3 Catch Game Lesson Plan.
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This month we're pleased to
feature Dana Chambers, an elementary physical education specialist from Newcastle Elementary (418 NW 10th) school in Newcastle, Oklahoma.
In her own words:
"I recently attended the K-2 and the 3-6 institute in July... I am now in my fourth week of school and completely loving SPARK. I love the quick transitions I am able to implement. My students are loving it too. Our favorite activity so far has been Superhero tag (fyi- all grades have loved it even though it was just in the K-2). I am amazed at how just changing a few things like always saying 'When I say Go, we will do this'...
Anyways you had asked for feedback when we were there and I just wanted to let you know how much it is impacting my teaching."
Want to share your thoughts about SPARK? Click Here and submit your own testimonial. If we feature i tin our eNewsletter, we'll send you a SPARK t-shirt! |
Featured Product:
This month Sportime is proud to feature the CorePole, a complete Cardio and Strength Conditioning System! The CorePole simultaneously accommodates up to 10 users and is a great way to improve the fitness levels of your students! Click Here for information on the CorePole and to see a video of it in action!
Did you know you can purchase all of your favorite quality Sportime equipment through SPARK? Contact SPARK to order today! 800-SPARK-PE or spark@sparkpe.org
 Featured Article:
SUUNTO and HeartZones Team Pod Heart
Rate Monitoring System from Sportime
(Reprinted from The Osawatomie Graphic)
Get
pumped up!
Not only have
physical education teachers in USD 367 (Oswatomie, KS) put into place a
one-of-a-kind district physical education program, but they became a real
department instead of six individuals working in separate locations and on
differing schedules...
Click Here to read the rest of this article...
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You can now follow SPARK through your favorite social media sites! Are you on Facebook? Become a fan of The SPARK Programs! Like to Tweet? Follow SPARK on Twitter! Looking for discussions on interesting health-related topics? Subscribe the the SPARK Blog!
Join SPARK through any of these sites and you'll be able to:- Get updated on the latest SPARK resources and events
- See what other SPARK Stars are doing & saying
- Let SPARK and the SPARK family know what you think
- Connect with other educators/organizations in our industry
Click on any icon below to visit the SPARK account for that site...
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 · Featured Article by Dr. Jim Sallis
· October Webinar Info
· SPARK recognized Nationally
· PA Health Ride
· Keep Gym in School
· October Teaching Tips
· Teaching Tips for August
· Grant Information
· SPARK in Action
· Social Media and SPARK
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Communities
Putting
Prevention to Work
(National)
The Centers
for Disease Control recently announced a $373 million funding initiative to
focus on disease prevention and health promotion in states and communities across the country. Local, state, and tribal
health departments are eligible to apply.
To learn
more about this exciting funding announcement, Click Here or
visit www.grants.gov.
Letter of
Intent Deadline: 10/30/09
Application
Deadline: 12/1/09
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Texas Fitness Now Grant
Texas
Education Agency
(TX)
The
application for the 2009-2010 Texas Fitness Now grant is now available! This
program will provide grants to school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools for the support of in-school physical education and fitness programs
for students in grades 6, 7, and/or 8.
Click Here
and search "Physical Education" in the program field to find 2009-2010 grant
guidelines and eligibility requirements for this funding opportunity.
Deadline:
October 22, 2009
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Champions
for Healthy Kids
The General
Mills Foundation
(National)
The General
Mills Foundation, in partnership with the American Dietetic Association
Foundation and the President's Council on Physical Fitness, developed the
Champions for Healthy Kids grant program in 2002. Each year since inception,
the General Mills Foundation awards 50 grants of $10,000 each to
community-based groups that develop creative ways to help youth adopt a
balanced diet and physically active lifestyle.
Click Here
for more information and contact SPARK for help with your cost proposal.
Applications will be announced soon!
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Helping Hand Fund
All
Stars Helping Kids
(San Francisco,
LA, Dallas, New York)
The Helping
Hand Fund offers $250 to $3,500 grants to promote rigorous academics, health & fitness and life
skills development for disadvantaged children in select cities. All Stars seeks
to empower youth through sports and quality education, and is supported by a
range of professional athletes and philanthropists.
Applications
are accepted on the 15th of every month, and can be completed online: Click Here.
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UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning
Grants
UnitedHealthcare and Youth Service America
(National,
select states)
The UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning grant
program is available for youth-led community education projects in selected U.S. states.
These grants of up to $1,000 support teachers, service-learning coordinators,
and students in the health professions to implement service-learning projects around
childhood obesity and to engage children and youth ages 5 to 25 as volunteers.
Deadline:
October 22, 2009
For more information about this grant program, Click Here.
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W.K. Kellogg Foundation
(National)
The Kellogg
Foundation funds education, health & well-being programs to promote school
readiness and success for underserved populations. This grant can help jump
start your PE, After School, or Coordinated School Health program to boost
academic achievement and help your students learn and have fun!
Click Here for more information ______
21st Century Community Learning
Centers (21st CCLC)(After School Grant)
In addressing its primary
goal of ensuring that academic enrichment opportunities are available to
students who are not meeting state standards in core academic areas, 21st CCLC
funding can be used to provide a broad array of services, such as: Youth
development activities;
drug and violence prevention programs;
recreation programs; and character education programs
that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of
participating students.
Click Here for more information
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