Physical Education
September/October
The strand of Games was first up in September as it is a nice way to settle in to the new school year. The focus during the games for the month was on the fundamental movement skill of 'catching' with the skill being taught explicitly through use of games and activities from the 'Move Well Move Often' program and put into use through games like 'bench ball'
We also reviewed our PE plan for 2024/25 as a staff. This is our plan for the current school year.
In October, as a school, we always focus on the Gymnastics strand as this is when Dkam sports visit our school. Kenny and Mikey are specialised gymnastics coaches who come to our school for a 6 week block each year to teach the gymnastics strand. The children love their lessons and learn so much in the six week block. Skills like rolls and tumbles are taught and it is fantastic to see the children become so confident when trying these new skills.
During this time our class teachers focus on the fundamental movement skill of balancing as this aligns well with the gymnastics strand. We again use the Move Well Move Often materials to teach the skill of balancing in a developmentally appropriate way. Balancing is one of the 4 FMS that we have chosen to focus on this year as a whole school in an effort to increase the children's abilities in this area.
November/December
Our Strand Unit for November was 'Games' with a specific focus on the Fundamental Movement Skill of 'Kicking'. Class teachers used games from the Move Well Move Often manuals to teach different elements of the skill of kicking in a fun and developmentally appropriate way.
January/February
Our strand unit for January was Athletics with a focus on the fundamental movement skill of 'jumping'. Classes focused on both jumping for distance and jumping for height, played games from the Move Well Move Often manuals and took part in jumping circuits.
.jpg)
In February we focused on the FMS of throwing. We again used games from MWMO to teach the elements of throwing and this also linked nicely with 3 sessions of rugby training from Dungarvan Rugby Club with a strong focus on throwing during these sessions.
.jpg)
March
Our FMS for March was 'landing'. We practiced this through games from Move Well Move Often and also through our PE strand for the month which was Dance. We focused on Irish dances to tie in with Seachtain na Gaeilge. The junior classes learning the steps to 'An Damhsa Mór' while the older classes revised 'An Damhsa Mór' and learned the Siege of Ennis. Classes learned and practiced the dances throughout the month of March and this cumulated in a whole school ceilí mór in our yard to mark the end of Seachtain na Gaeilge and St. Patrick's Day.
