P.E. in Holy Trinity S.N.S.
All children in Holy Trinity S.N.S. receive at least one hour of P.E. a week. The P.E. lessons are planned by the diligent teachers of the school using the P.S.S.I lesson plans. Even though we are quite limited not having our own P.E. hall, each child gets the opportunity to explore five of the P.E. strands during each academic year. These are; Athletics, Games, Outdoor and Adventure Activities, Swimming and Dance. P.E. is an inclusive affair for all in Holy Trinity as emphasis is placed on working as a team. The children from Le Chéile join their mainstream class groups for all P.E. lessons and external coaching sessions. Teachers use the P.S.S.I. lesson plans to guide their delivery of the P.E. curriculum.
Strand and Skill Focus for School Year 2018/19
Although we already partake in lots of games in P.E. in Holy Trinity we chose Games as our strand of focus for this year with particular emphasis on bringing new games to the school. An example of this includes the sport of Kinball. It is a team sport created in Quebec, Canada in 1986 . This sport is quite different to the majority of others as you use a very large ball and the matches are played among three teams at the same time instead of two teams like the most of the team games. The children loved the chance a learning about a different sport and they practiced their listening skills by watching videos in advance on the rules of the games and explaining them back to their classmates.
The skill of sidestepping was chosen as a focus fundamental movement skill for this school year. We found a lot of children were implementing this skill naturally in both their P.E. lessons and participation in extra-curricular sports. However, by teaching the skill in isolation the children became more aware of how they were using this skill.
Check out an in-depth look at our strand and skill focus for 2018/19: Strand and Skill Focus 2018/19
Fit4Fun!
Fit4Fun is a new initiative to Holy Trinity this year. It’s an extension activity that can be completed at home in addition to the children’s Physical Education lesson in school. The activities range anywhere from the highly skilled ‘Dance Mirrors’ to the throttling ‘Donkey Kicks’. We find Fit4Fun is a great link between school and home education and we hope the children are enjoying implementing the fun! Check out the Junior and Senior tasks for our last school term.
Junior Active Homework: Term 3
Senior Active Homework: Term 3
Water Safety Programme
Water safety education is provided to the children of Holy Trinity on an annual basis. It is something that is taken very seriously, especially coming up to the summer months when children will be visiting various seas, lakes and pools. The R.N.L.I. visited our school in October this year where they spoke to all class groups. The Land PAWS Water Safety Programme will also be carried out with children in Term 3 to refresh their water safety knowledge.
Making the most of our environment
While we may not be able to boast a P.E. hall in Holy Trinity, we certainly do not let that stop us fulfilling our full physically active potential! There are constantly activities taking place on yard and on the field. We also regularly visit the playground in Fr. Collins’ Park for our Playground Circuit. Each station uses a fixture in the play park to promote a different physical activity. The class splits up into groups and rotates around the playground until all the stations have been completed.
P.E. Room
Thanks to Ms. Reilly, Ms. Monaghan, Séan, Conor, Ella and Ellie for the 2018/19 audit of the P.E. room. This was a long and lengthy process which they carried out to perfection. All strands have sections in the room with items being clearly labelled in a very accessible way. Well done guys! Pictures will be placed up of the shelves to help teachers and pupils using the P.E. room to place items back into the correct places.
