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I'm glad you came to visit. I hope that you'll find reading this useful and I'll try my best to update it as often as possible with interesting articles, resource updates and reviews, and activity ideas. If you're looking for information on something specific, try using the google search box in the right hand navigation bar.
The 2010 OPHEA and PHE Canada National Conference was last week. With over 900 attendees from all over Canada and 100 plus workshops presented, hundreds of ideas were shared and lots of new friendships were made. Thank you to everyone who made this event a tremendous success! One of my favourite parts of the conference was the Keynote Address from Craig Kielburger, founder and chair of Free The Children and Co-Founder and Director of Me to We Social Enterprises. He gave an inspiring presentation that touched upon the idea of finding a spark or a passion in your students and working with them to match that spark with a social cause:
EMPOWERMENT and EDUCATION
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YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM and SOCIAL ACTIVISM
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LIFELONG GLOBAL CITIZENS
I really liked this concept and wondered how I could integrate this philosophy into my classrooms. One of the programs Craig mentioned was Life in Action. Check out the Life in Action link and click on the link for educators - there is a teacher's handbook that includes lesson plans and activity ideas that are a great starting point!
Andrea Grantham, Executive Director of Physical and Health Education Canada spoke with well known radio host David Grossman from the Fan 590, on Physical Education in schools on the Sunday morning show on October 10th, 2010. The show talked about where physcial education in schools stands now and where it needs to go. Click here to hear what Andrea had to say.
A couple of weeks ago, I was honored to participate as a mentor for the PHE Canada Student Leadership Conference held at Camp Walden in Bancroft, Ontario. The annual conference is for post-secondary students studying in the physical and/or health education field that exemplify exceptional leadership skills.
What did I take away from the conference?
At the conference, I attended several great presentations from integrating hip hop into physical education to learning about different leadership styles. One of my favorite workshops was a presentation by Joey Feith - "Get in the game! ThePhysicalEducator.com, Social Media, and You!"
I am just learning about social media and was interested in what Joey had to say. Joey has been working hard to create an international professional network of PE teachers through his website: ThePhysicalEducator.com, facebook account (279 friends), twitter account (315 followers) and through a blog on his website. He even includes resources for teachers - check out the "Downloads" link on his website for some great activity ideas. I think Joey is showing great leadership in the area of social media and hopefully you can join this online community.
What can teacher's take away from the conference?
At the end of the conference, students were asked to complete a "Leadership Reflection" exercise. I think this is a great exercise for any teacher to do for themselves or with their students. Here are the questions:
- What behaviors/influences are helping/preventing me from achieving my leadership goals?
- What do I need to start doing (or revise) to help me reach my leadership goals? Why?
- What do I need to stop doing that is preventing me from reaching my leadership goals? Why?
- What do I need to continue doing to help me reach my leadership goals? Why?
In addition, if you would like or if you know someone else who would like to participate in this camp next year as a mentor, click here to learn more.
Congratulations to all who made the Vancouver 2010 Olympics an incredible success! Sport is in a great place right now, let’s hope we can benefit from this in our efforts to raise the importance of physical education and sport in Canada. Let's keep the momentum going. Andrea Grantham, Executive Director of PHE Canada recommends sending a letter of thanks to our local MPs encouraging them to continue investing in sport and physical activity – particularly to support all levels of the Canadian population who have been inspired by our Olympic successes. See below for a sample letter, but please make it your own. Here is a link to help find your local MP: www.phecanada.ca/eng/advocacy/action/government_contacts.cfm.Dear Member of Parliament (insert name),
I am writing to you today to congratulate you and all of Canada for the phenomenal Olympic Games that have just come to a close in Vancouver. Canada’s unprecedented fourteen gold medals is a source of great pride for all Canadians from coast to coast. A whole new generation of Canadians will now aspire to Olympic greatness on the slopes, on the track and on the ice. None of this would have been possible without support and funding from the federal government and the other partners that made these Olympic Games such a success.
Now that the Games are over, however, with the Paralympics to follow, it is critically important that we continue to support our athletes and coaches and that we build on the incredible momentum of the past few weeks. We need to ensure that our athletes and coaches have the certainty going forward that Canada values their accomplishments and is willing to support them as they continue to build on the amazing foundation laid at these Olympics.
I understand that the funding for Own The Podium, the organization that coordinates the support of our athletes, will be cut in half at the end of March. I worry that this funding cut will hold back our ability to build off of these Games and to ensure that we have a legacy of excellence for athletes, coaches and for all Canadians. I think it is important that the Federal government step in to bridge this gap, to ensure that our athletes have the support that they need to continue to shine for years to come.
Sport can play an important role in meeting many of our goals as a country including building healthier and stronger Canadians. The success of our athletes is a source of great price and inspiration for me and for all Canadians, young and old. Please help to ensure that the support is in place to ensure that our Olympic legacy lives on for the benefit of us all.
Sincerely,
xxxx
