Professional Development
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Transition year – HS PE and Leadership
I have finally graduated to HS! With some recruiting challenges at ISB, and issues around Visas and travel, I agreed to move into HS PE this year to fill a role working 40% with Grade 9 as well as 60% working in the Office of Learning leading up our school’s re-accreditation process. I have been super pumped about both of these opportunities, but still took the time to check in with my two HS children, as I felt it was important not to cramp their style… and my MS daughter, who was sad that I wasn’t there for her to drop in on in MS PE but is still able…
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2021 Professional Growth
I have arrived back in Beijing and to the International School of Beijing (ISB) where I am in the middle of my 5th year as a MS PE and Health professional. As with everyone on the planet, the last year has been very different and as a teacher, this has seen a very huge shift in the way we try to engage with our young people, our colleagues and our pedagogical thinking. Yesterday I read a headline that said Microsoft has gone up 33% in profits from the previous year. It does not surprise me. In May 2020 I was asked to write a reflection about my professional focus and…
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Endurance Athlete – as a woman
This past week, the name Stacy Sims has cropped up on my radar. First was as I ran around the lake one early morning, as I listened to the Purple Patch Podcast and then as I had a virtual coffee with a former colleague as we chatted about inspiring media and this TedTalkX came up (Stacy Sims) and then as I chatted to my coach, Adam, he mentioned to me that he had listened to a webinar from Sims, and I knew that the stars were aligning for a reason. I have been much more reflective on how much nutrition and my hormone cycle dictate my training success. I have…
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ACHPER Victoria October 2020 – Game Sense Presentation
A big thank you to ACHPER Victoria for allowing me to be a part of their ‘Teachers in Action’ series this October. It is great to have an opportunity to learn with others in Australia and be part of some professional conversations around so many different topics. It has allowed me to think more deeply about Why I use Game Sense and to re-read some great resources and feel more fresh about this great model. This blog post is a place for me to share the resources I will be using for this presentation. Those attending or those who are looking for more information can find it here: Google document…
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Physical Literacy – continually evolving lifetime
Physical Literacy is a term that has bounced onto the scene but with so many other terms or focus points in our society – it can be challenging to decide what PL is and how we might define it within our communities and contexts. This article suggests that Physical Literacy has been adopted into the Physical Education curriculum under a Health-focus or policy bias. The different educational curriculum in different countries has used the term Physical Literacy to then create checklists that focus on fundamental movements, skills or activities but may then be excluding other criteria or discussion about how to create Physically Literate members of our community. (Jurbala, 2015…
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(almost) Back and Ready to go.
The time has come. I have been actively burying myself in other tasks, worries and focus areas, but it is time to focus – school is going to start soon and I really need to be ready to go. I have been really enjoying having some 1990s alternative music on my running playlist and this song by Republica somewhat sums up some of the ways I have been feeling and thinking – being back, being ready to go, shouting it out that we are going to make it! But mostly about my mental state – I am trying to put aside the negativity and anxious feelings that sit next to…
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Starting school – opportunities for PE to shine.
Happy Summer! It may be a Summer that is usual for you – or maybe something totally different. Maybe some things are the same but others not-so-much. When we start school in a few weeks time (whatever that looks like depending on where you are…)it will be really important to spend some time connecting with your students and your colleagues as the journey of the Summer months may be radically different and may have affected people in new ways. This may be a return to a new normal and we need to be ready for the very many ways that could look. This past few weeks I have been fortunate…
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Legacy
” I’m Just a PE Teacher” How many of you have been in a situation where you have defended yourself with this statement. At PHASE-AP recently, Carlos Galvez and I hosted a conversation with a room full of people talking about how we can add-on to what we do to advocate for PE at various levels. We shared the common feelings that PE teachers have – feeling marginalised, left out of ‘core’ teacher conversations, left in the Gym, far away from the epi-centre of the school and staffrooms, not valued or understood by parents, administrators and other teachers. Pushed into coaching roles and not given the time to teach. Left…