Mukwonago Moves
Get Active - Eat Healthy - Move Often
Our Physical Education Staff
MHS Staff
- Justen Last - UW- La Crosse Graduate
- Margie Canfield - UW Whitewater Graduate
- Jim Essman - UW - La Crosse Graduate
- Jennifer Skemp - Carroll University Graduate
- Staci Butalla - UW - Whitewater Graduate
Our Elementary Staff
- Mickey Neumann - UW La Crosse Graduate
- Chad Allen - UW - Whitewater Graduate
- Cody Christensen - UW - Whitewater Graduate
- Jeff Grant - UW La Crosse Graduate
- Tracey Portz - UW - Whitewater Graduate
Middle School Staff
- Tom Werth - UW -Whitewater Graduate
- Josh Korth - UW - La Crosse Graduate
- Ashley Uecker - Carroll University Graduate
- Nancy Movrich - UW - Madison Graduate
Muscles and Bones for Third Graders
In regard to our state standards, every physical education standard covers specific elements of physical literacy. Possessing the ability to engage in a wide variety of activities with a certain level of confidence would be considered being a physically literate person. a physically literate person understands the components of fitness and why all are necessary building blocks needed to maintain health. Physical literacy deepens one's awareness of age-appropriate content related to the human body, movement, nutrition and wellness. Like any other academic literacy program, physical literacy doesn’t stop when a child leaves school! Physical literacy continues to be developed and improved as the body's physical needs change. It's the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle; the health benefits continue well beyond a person’s formative years in school.
Students in Mrs. Neumann's PE class at Section School participate in a "Build Your Body with Bones" relay race as they learn the names of the major bones in the body.
JRFH another WIN-WIN for MASD
Students participate in JRFH to raise funds for the American Heart Association, which gives back to schools through a variety of services, nutrition programs, CPR training, and education materials for schools.
This year in JRFH, Physical Education Teachers, Tracey Portz and Cody Christensen, used an interactive heart model for students to follow as they worked their way around the correct blood-flow pathways of the heart. The model was designed on the gym floor and students used scooters and other motor skills to transport oxygen to the various chambers of the heart and out to the muscles. When the energy was depleted, the students transported it back to the lungs for refueling. Students could conceptualize what was actually going on with their own heart while they actively moved through the module.
Last year MASD elementary schools raised over $15,000.00 for JRFH.
Pictured below are students from Mrs. Portz's class working through the interactive heart model.
CESA Wellness Project at Section School
Health and wellness are important components in every school's foundation. Balanced school lunch menus, regular movement breaks, health services and a wellness-based school climate are the necessary ingredients to improve learning for everyone who attends.
A policy for RECESS?
Recess, along with physical education class, are periods of time in the school day for students to move. Recess time is linked to many benefits aside from burning calories.
Recess time can improve memory and concentration, help students become less fidgety, recess reduces disruptive behavior in the classroom and provides needed social and emotional development.
The CDC, SHAPE America and other national organizations have put out some guidelines for school recess practice and have even suggested bringing back recess for the upper grades to allow time for students to get out of their desks and move. Some other guidelines for school recess are:
- Prohibit the replacement of recess for gym class and vice versa
- Provide an adequate space for students to walk and equipment to play games
- Make certain the space is safe, visible and free from hazards
- Prohibit excluding students from recess for disciplinary or academic reasons
- Prohibit the use of physical activity at recess as punishment
- Provide recess before lunch
- Provide support staff who lead or supervise recess with professional development and safety training
Not sure of your school's policy and best practices for recess? Check out your school policies and practices or check out this site: www.shapeamerica.org/advocacy/.../Guide-for-Recess-Policy.pdf
Recess....
- provides a necessary break from mental activities and from sitting still for too long
Recess....
- can reduce disruptive behavior in the classroom
- improve mental concentration
- improve memory
- should not be taken away as a punishment
Recess....
- should be safe and non-threatening to all students
- should be conducted in a safe area with equipment for play
- should be well supervised by trained personnel
What is the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community Health Model (WSCC, pronounced WISK)?
The model, shown below, uses the CHILD at the focal center, surrounded by the supporting attributes needed to attain wellness of the whole child; "healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. The next portion emphasizes the alignment, integration, and collaboration needed by supporting systems to enhance learning and health. The outside layers represent those systems and how they support one another. The community is the final layer which supports the entire school with community resources, input, and collaboration.
Contact the Wisconsin DPI for more information about the WSCC Model.