Our P.E. classes are made up of the six strands of the P.E. curriculum and throughout the year we take part in games, athletics, gymnastics, dance, outdoor and adventure activities and aquatics. We think P.E. is a very important subject and we follow a school P.E. policy and timetable for teaching the various strands. Our teachers have dedicated an area in the staff room for P.E. teaching resources to make our lessons fun and interesting. They are always sharing different P.E. ideas and activities with each other and they have completed courses on P.E. to make our lessons more fun and interesting. Some of our teachers are also members of the Irish Primary P.E. Association. In 2019, our school built on a P.E. hall. This has been hugely beneficial in keeping us all active. We can have regular P.E., no matter what the weather is like and we can also keep active during wet breaks. We are very thankful to the whole community for their continuous support of our hall fundraising efforts.
Every year, all classes from Junior Infants to Sixth Class take part in six weeks of swimming lessons at a local pool. As well as taking part in swimming lessons we learn all about water safety before we go to the pool. Through the Land Paws programme from the Irish Water Safety Association we learned about water safety in the pool, in the home, on a boat, on the beach, on the farm and on the waterways. We also learned what to do if we saw somebody get into difficulty in the water.
Active Líne
When the bell goes in the morning, after break and after lunch we must line up at our door and wait for the teachers. During this time a member of the Active School Committee leads us in a number of exercises to keep us active.
Breaking up sedentary time
We are very conscious here in Rockmount that it can be difficult to get our sixty minutes of physical activity in every day if we are sitting all day. At the start of this year our committee and teachers decided on three things we could do every day to reduce the amount of time we are sitting for. We decided to make sure we have at least one active break every day, do some of our work in a standing position (doing things like reading and tables) and have P.E. homework every evening.
Movement Breaks
It’s not easy for adults or children to sit for long periods of time without getting restless and losing focus. Here in Rockmount we now incorporate lots of movement breaks in throughout the day to ensure we get a break from our seats and are kept focused. These breaks can be an action song or poem, an activity from the ‘GoNoodle’ website or a dance from ‘Just Dance for Kids’, a workout from 10 at 10, an activity from the Irish Heart Foundation's 'Bizzy Breaks' or three laps around the hall. Our teachers recorded these on our chart every day and everyone agreed that they really helped to keep us focused and attentive, especially in the afternoon.
Active Walkway
We have an active walkway around our school field. We enjoy using this during break times, as a movement break during the day and in the morning before school starts.
Sensory Path
At the start of the year the school purchased a sensory path and our caretaker Pat put it down for us. This is a really fun way to get a movement break in throughout the day and we also like to use it during inside breaks on a wet day.
Physical activity throughout the year
We also like to mark special occasions throughout the year with physical activities.
