Welcome to IST’s Elementary Campus PE Site

Welcome to the International School of Tanganyika’s Elementary Campus Physical Education Website. Here you will find what’s happening in PE classes, student activities and much more. Please check back often and feel free to leave us a message with your ideas, links and good thoughts. Asante!

Upcoming Events

May

Wednesday 9th May – Under 9 DISL Basketball Finals  at IST – 3.00pm to 5.00pm

Friday 11th May – Under 11 DISL Basketball Finals at IST -  3.00pm to 5.00pm

Tuesday 15th May – Grade 5 Inter-house T- Ball – 7.15am to 8.30am

Monday 21st May – Development Swim Gala at IST – 3.0pm TO 4.30pm

Monday 28th May – Swim Squad Gala at HOPAC – 3.00pm to 5.00pm

June

Monday 4th June – Fun Sports Day EC1/2 to Grade 2

Tuesday 5th June – Inter-house Fun Sports Day – Grade 3 to 5

First Units of the Year

Our first PE units of the year are underway and the students are busy learning new skills and concepts.

EC and Kg classes start the year off with a unit about playing games, including some basic gymnastics.

Grade 1 will be practicing large ball skills of throwing, catching, and rolling using these skills in simple games.

Grade 2 students follow a similar unit, but develop their skills with smaller balls.

Grade 3, 4 and 5 students are taking part in Athletic Activities (sprinting, long distance runs, long jump, high jump, throwing etc) with a focus on personal improvement. Grade 4 and 5 students record their times and distances and score points as part of the Five Star Award Scheme.

 PE units rotate every four weeks to give the children a wide range of activities throughout the year. For more information about PE at IST, please visit our blogsite:

Are you Ready for PE?

This is the question we will be asking all our students when they arrive at PE and Swimming lessons. Please work with your child to make sure they have everything they need for our lessons:

 

PE Classes

IST PE Uniform –children come to school in this on PE days

Sports Shoes – no sandals or Crocs please

Water bottle and hat

School uniform to change into after PE (Grade 4 and 5 only)

No jewellery – necklaces, long ear-rings (stud ear-rings are permitted)

Any long hair should be tied back

 

Swimming Classes

Swim Shorts for boys

Swim Suits for girls – no bikinis

Swim cap and goggles (optional)

Towel

 If your child needs to be excused from lessons for any reason, please write a note in their link book.

DIA Swimming Gala

This past Monday the  31st of January, we took a full strength IST swim squad to Dar Independent Academy for a competitive timed swim meet. Both the Junior (G2-3) and Senior (G4-5) squads have been training hard all year and this was put into good effect in the number of personal best times.

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Looking very slick in their new swimming uniforms, the IST team gave a 100% performance and conducted themselves with good sportsmanship and behaviour. The times are still being collated but it looks as though several school records have tumbled. Those records will be posted once confirmed. Congratulations on a job well done!

Weekly media – best catches and how to do them

As the grade 3-5′s progress through their strike and field units, it might be useful to see what you can accomplish if you practice hard at catching. This first video chows some amazing catches from baseball, cricket and american football. Check out how committed they are to making that catch, it is as if that ball is the only thing in the world that they are focusing on.

This next clip shows you how to catch a ball below your shoulders.

key points – soft hands, bring the ball back into your body, bend your knees.

Swimming Awards Scheme start January 2011

In swimming lessons this term all students from EC1 to Grade 5 will be working towards a swimming award. The award is based on the ‘National Plan for Swimming’ from the UK. The awards include swimming technique, distance and speed as well and water skills such as floating, diving, jumping and sculling. There are 12 levels so all children will be challenged at their own ability. At the end of the term we will test everyone and each child will receive a certificate. We are sure that the students will really enjoy this new idea and will be motivated to practice and improve. Watch this space to see how our children get on.

Weekly Video – Crazy basketball skills

As the Grade 5s move into their basketball unit we thought it would be a good time to show you a couple of clips of what is possible if you want it enough. The first clip is of Jashaun Agosto, an 11 year-old, who works his socks off for his dreams. Listen to how hard he practices not only his skills but his fitness and then see for yourself what he can do.

The next clip is from Memphis Grizzlies rookie Xavier Henry as he gives his tips for three-point shooting. Remember, its the same advise for shooting from anywhere, as long as you go through his five tips (particularly number 5)  you should be swishing in no time.

Weekly media – Gymnastics

As grade 3 and 5 start their gymnastics units we thought it would be a good idea to show you two youtube videos that show the amazing skills that the top gymnasts have and also how you can do one of the more popular gymnastic moves.

The first is a montage from the Dutch National championships and it is good because shows the full range of gymnastic events from rhythmic and artistic to acrobatics and trampolining, for both men and women.

The second is an ehow clip of how to perform a handstand. This is one of a series of videos that break down many of the moves we do in class and extend those who might be beyond that. The explanations are very good and they also show you how to prepare for each skill. Enjoy watching and enjoy the upcoming unit!

Grade 4-5 Interhouse Athletics

After working hard over the athletics units it was now the turn of Grade 4 and 5 to demonstrate all they had learned while representing their houses at the same time. The grade 4′s started on the four field events of high jump, long jump, triple jump and ball throw to test themselves against the olympic ethos of ‘higher, faster, stronger’. The grade 5′s began their day at trackside with races ranging from the 50 metre sprint to the real endurance race of 800 metres. The faces that were on show as everyone crossed the line were testament to the amount of effort that was being put in. Then the two swapped over so that everyone got a try at everything. Whilst the points were being added up the day was finished off by a thrilling set of  4 by 50m relay races.

The competition was a fantastic display of commitment and technique and in the end though the scores were : 1st Tembo, 2nd, Kifaru & Nyati 4th, Mamba – everybody was really a winner.

Click on each photo below for a close up.

Unit Focus – Athletics

This is a new feature in the PE department where we will be looking at a particular unit in more detail every now and then to give you some insight into what students are learning in their PE lessons.

We have just finished our Athletics unit for grades 3 -5, which has culminated in inter-house competitions to demonstrate everything we have learned.

The central idea, or what we want everyone to come away with knowing and understanding, was ‘Athletes improve their performance by practicing their technique’. This quite simple statement has a lot of meaning for anything you do, anytime.

We started off by conducting a ‘baseline test’ of where we were at without any practice of technique and measured the results. We then spent time watching our partners and other demonstrations, asking questions, learning from mistakes and discussing and attempting new techniques to try and improve these results.
At the end of four weeks of practicing our technique we did the same measurements again and nearly all of G3-5 improved their scores! Grade 4 and 5 recorded their scores on worksheets and then compared their results with British Athletics standards to see how they compared. After adding up those scores everyone was awarded a certificate ranging from 1 star to 5 star depending on how well they did.

After practicing so hard during PE it was great to see everyone being able to use their technique competitively when trying to earn points for their houses. The long distance events in particular saw what racing against others can do to make you push yourself that much further.

Weekly video – Football + Capoeira

We are working hard at our football skills during G3-5′s current invasion games unit. But what happens when you combine soccer with Capoeira, the acrobatic martial art from Brazil? Take a look (warning…don’t try this at home).

These young athletes aren’t practicing on groomed grass fields. They’re performing in an inner-city setting on dirt lots, paved streets, rooftops and courtyards. This video shows you that it doesn’t take the best facilities in the world to become the best athletes in the world. It takes work, dedication, constant practice and the obvious passion for one’s sport demonstrated by these athletes.

Also check out some of the amazing skills these guys have. Again, sheer hard work and dedicated practice is the only way to achieve this level of ability.