Mesa Public Schools PE News

Acceptable health fitness standards: Achieving fitness scores in the Healthy Fitness Zone may help reduce the risk of health problems.
Need for improvement: Assessment results will help the student know personal strengths and weaknesses.
Fitness changes: Test results can be used to see if fitness levels have improved or decreased over time. Students may self-test at any time they wish to know if they are making progress with their personal fitness.
Benefits: Daily physical activity and regular exercise help students look good, feel good, be healthy, and enjoy life. It will also help in school work and in playing sports and games.

All About What We're Assessing and How We're Doing It
(Health-Related physical fitness (fitness necessary for a healthy lifestyle) will be assessed.)

Aerobic Capacity: The ability to exercise the entire body for extended periods of time without stopping. It requires a fit and healthy heart muscle, blood vessels, and lungs. We will use the PACER (progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run) to assess aerobic capacity. Ask you youngster about this test!
Muscular Strength: The amount of force muscles can produce. It is often measured by how much weight can be lifted.
Muscular Endurance: The ability of each different group of muscles to do an activity many times without fatiguing.
Curl-Ups and Push-Ups: will be used to assess both muscular strength and muscular endurance.
Flexibility: The ability to use joints fully. Muscles and joint connective tissue should be stretched regularly to prevent stiffness and a reduction in the range of motion. Two types of flexibility will be assessed; lower back flexibility using the "Back Saver Sit and Reach", and arm and shoulder flexibility with the "Shoulder Stretch".

The Pacer

The PACER will be used in place of the mile run as an assessment of aerobic endurance. When performing the PACER, children are asked to run at a specified pace back and forth between two lines until they have reached the minimal "acceptable standard" for their age group. This test is a much more "child sensitive" form of assess aerobic capacity. In fact, our students think it is FUN! Ask you child to explain the PACER to you! The score recorded on the personal fitness self-testing card indicates the score your child received on the PACER.

The Health Standard

Frequency: Daily. Three or more "activity sessions" per day
Intensity: Moderate. Alternating bouts of activity with rest periods.
Time: Activity necessary to equal to at least 60 minutes of active play every day. Participation in physical activity may take place in one session or be broken into shorter periods of time.

Lifetime Physical Activity Model for Children

There are two standards for lifetime physical activity:

The Health Standard: the minimum level of activity necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle (at least 60 minutes of moderate activity daily).

The Optimal Functioning Standard: the optimal activity level to maintain throughout adulthood (60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity daily).

We suggest that all youngsters participate daily in moderate, intermittent activity. Their person fitness program should balance components of strength, flexibility, and aerobic activities. Activities such as walking, rope jumping, swimming, and bike riding should be incorporated into their daily routine.

The F.I.T. Principle
F - Frequency
I - Intensity
T - Time

*The above information was taken from the "Mesa Pubic Schools PE News" newsletter.

Teachers:
Miss Sigsworth is school-based
Mrs. Petsch is district-based

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