Not even an event of Olympic proportions can go off without a hitch.
Jeannie Hervatine’s elementary physical education classes at Union Area School District kicked off a “Going For The Gold’’ theme last September during an open house in which students posed for photos on pre-drawn backgrounds of Olympic events, such as gymnastics and weightlifting.
“We were coming off an Olympic year and the kids were excited about it,” Hervatine says. “So that’s why we chose the ‘Going for the Gold’ theme.
When all was said and done, Hervatine says more than 120 students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade had their pictures taken. Some youths were still lined up an hour after the open house ended.
“The kids absolutely loved it,” she says. “We hung the photos up and will hang them up again in the spring.’’
Unfortunately, the hours leading up to the event did not go so smoothly.
Hervatine called an audible the night before the event to change plans when the local meteorologist’s forecasts were not too encouraging.
“[The event] was supposed to be done outside on a sidewalk with chalk,” she says. “This was supposed to boot off the new [school] year. There was rain in the forecast, so we had to hurry up that night and draw it out freehand on the paper. We did it real quick. It was a last-minute, ‘oh-no-it’s-gonna-rain, we-can’t-go-outside’ decision.’’
In a rare art-meets-sports moment, Hervatine and first-year art instructor Delaney Munnal proved that not only cowboys in the movies are proficient in the quick-draw. The two teachers did some quick drawing the night before the open house, and the event turned out well.
Addison Nogay strikes a pose on the balance beam.
This is one of several projects in the district that is a part of what Hervatine calls the “new physical education.’’
The former Slippery Rock University gymnast and longtime gymnastics coach says she tries to make gym class more than just a gym class.
“We’re not just out there playing games and wasting our time, and we’re not just rolling the ball out,” she says. “The whole goal of the program is wellness. The children learn what choices that they can make to be healthy.’’
Hervatine is in her eleventh year at the school and says the new ways of teaching physical education are gaining popularity.
“I’m a little more progressive and, I think, out of the box,” she says. “People are slowly starting (to accept) this new philosophy.’’
One in-class project she’s proud of is the fifth-graders’ “5-2-1-0 Let’s Go” program. The idea is to eat five different fruits or vegetables per day, engage in two hours or less of screen time, spend one hour completing physical activities and consume zero sugary drinks.
“They are getting a lot of information quick,” she says. “They do projects. They are learning how sugar is hidden in a lot of drinks, even in sports drinks.’’
The big spring 2017 project was broken up into three parts, and an information session for parents was scheduled to cover fitness and nutrition. Students will also talk to specials guests: members of the Youngstown Phantoms’ Tier 1 Junior A hockey team.
Younger students were encouraged to run and crawl around Crocodile Alley to fine tune their motor skills by navigating tunnels, crawling under yarn and doing yoga exercises.
“It’s like a Tough Mudder (obstacle run) without the mud,’’ Hervatine says.
