Stabilizing Muscles

Last week, my students worked on their upper and lower body strength by completing four exercise stations.  Each exercise utilized stabilizing muscles that are typically not used.  As always, students concentrated on good form by keeping their backs straight, their cores tight, and their heads up.

Exercises included:

1. Reverse lunges-

2. Kettle bell upright row-

3. Medicine ball toss-

4. Bleacher dips-

Strength and Conditioning

On a bright and sunny Friday afternoon, the 5th graders completed a total body strength and conditioning circuit:


Tire flip- Students flipped a truck tire about 25 yards. In order to perform this exercise correctly, students focused on exploding from a squatted position, using their legs, back, and arms in unison to raise and flip the tire.

Rope climb- Student climbed a rope that hung from the field goal post. In order to perform this exercise correctly, students had to use their arms and back to pull, and their legs to help secure the rope. Some students successfully climbed the rope without using their legs, relying only on their upper body!

I was very impressed with my students' effort!

Perfect Push-ups

Push-ups are a great exercise that recruit muscles from the entire body to keep good form.  My students focus on keeping their backs straight, their cores tight, and their heads up.

Watch as two 5th graders show us how it's done!

Calvert Boys' Lacrosse

This Spring, I have had the pleasure of helping coach the Calvert Boys' Lacrosse team along side fellow assistant coach, Jay Parker, and head coach, Craig Bennett.  We have had a stellar season, winning all games but one thus far.  The boys have impressed me with their refined skills and poise on the field.  Our 8th graders will no doubt be impact players as they move on to their respective high schools.

Below you will find two short clips from a recent home game. Enjoy!

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Spring Sports Equipment Drive a HUGE success!  Both the lower and middle schools collected mountains of new and used sports equipment which we donated to our partner, Child First Authority, Inc.  Child First will now take the equipment and distribute it to Baltimore City public schools in need.  Your donations will help Child First with their commitment to "closing the opportunity gap for children in Baltimore City by providing high quality after school and in-school programs." (http://childfirstauthority.org/)

Below you will find some pictures from the MS drive.

We need your help!

Sports Equipment Drive

If you embark on any “spring cleaning” over break, please keep in mind that Calvert's Spring Sports Equipment Drive will take place from April 2 – April 5. We are looking for used or new sports equipment to donate to Child First Authority, to use in after school programs for Baltimore City Public Schools. Great equipment to donate would be girls’ lacrosse sticks, baseball gloves, yoga mats, and white karate uniforms. We are also looking for the following items: boys’ lacrosse sticks, tennis rackets, squash equipment, and used professional sports jerseys.  We will accept any sports equipment items not listed as well!

Monday in P.E.

After a dynamic warm-up, the 8th graders completed an exercise circuit that worked on their cardiovascular endurance and their muscle strength.  Students continuously ran/sprinted the length of the basketball court and walked the width  for about 8 minutes.  At the sound of the whistle, they quickly moved to the nearest corner "exercise station" and performed that corner's designated exercise for about 30 seconds. Exercises included: push-ups, jump rope, crunches, and mountain climbers.  Here is a short clip of the circuit:

Next, the 8th graders played in a fun game which had them running, dodging balls, and fleeing from classmates on scooters.  Rules:  five "throwers" line each side of the basketball court.  The remaining students are "runners."  The runners' job is to run from one side of the gym to the other without being hit with a ball.  Once hit,  a runner must grab a scooter and try to tag other runners as they pass. It gets to be pretty tricky when there are only a few runners left!  Here is a short clip of the game: