Originally published Jan. 8, 2018 in the Daily Herald
By Lee Filas
Donna Coia admits to being a bit hyperactive.
However, the physical education teacher at Thompson Elementary School in Lake Villa says this allows her to bring excitement to every student who walks into the gymnasium.
“Everybody in the whole school; I get to help guide all students,” she said. “So, that’s why having the opportunity to be a P.E. teacher means so much to me. I can touch all of these lives.”
One way she spreads her message is with a “positivity cart” she rolls around and parks near one of the gym entrances. The cart carries little wooden plaques bearing positive messages such as “Believe you can and you are halfway there,” “Don’t forget to be awesome,” and “Make it happen.”
Originally published Nov. 12, 2017 in the Press of Atlantic City
Families can be assured if they live in New Jersey, students are more likely to get topic-focused health and physical education in public middle schools and high schools than they would in other states, a new report finds.
New Jersey had the second highest percentage in the country, nearly 97 percent, of teachers and principals who reported they taught required health education courses in any grade six through 12, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Profiles report.
“Because young people attend school about six hours a day approximately 180 days per year during a critical period of their development, schools are in a unique position to help improve the health status of children and adolescents nationwide,” CDC experts stated.
Originally published Nov. 9, 2017 in the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
Dodgeball and rope climbing might have a place in the physical fitness regimen. But when it comes to teaching kids the real importance of fitness, some school districts have moved beyond traditional “gym” activities toward lessons that can last a lifetime.
More schools should do it.
With the childhood obesity rate at about 17 percent, the federal education law passed in December 2015 to replace No Child Left Behind elevates health and fitness to rank among things like art, music, civics and science as elements of a well-rounded education.
Originally published Nov. 3, 2017 in the Baltimore Sun.
Friday morning’s weather was perfect for a run and with beautiful fall leaves as a backdrop, Bel Air Middle School students participated in the school’s 35th annual Turkey Trot, sponsored by the physical education department.
Keeping with tradition, runners finished the approximately 1.15-mile course around the school’s campus at the Bel Air High School’s neighboring Bobcat Stadium, where friends, family and faculty waited to cheer them to the finish.
Originally published Oct. 2, 2017 in The Watford Observer.
By Rachel Russell, Reporter
An inaugural Teaching and Learning conference was hailed a “major success” as more than 80 teachers gathered to discuss physical education.
The Herts Secondary Schools PE Teaching and Learning Conference was held at the University of Hertfordshire, in Hatfield, on Monday, September 18, and was organised by the Herts Sports Partnership in conjunction with the Youth Sport Trust.