The health & physical education (HPE) department at Trinity College School is an active and busy place these days. The Arnold Massey ’55 Athletic Centre facilities are a constant hub of students and staff alike, engaging in active learning and fun activities. The department continues to consist of an enthusiastic group of teachers, including Angie Collins, Jacqui Priolo, Erin McGee, Luke O’Connell and Jen Powles. Furthermore, it has been excellent to have Conor Eustace (faculty associate), and Will Langford and Jessica Daicos (residential assistants) embedded in the department this year. Here is a brief snapshot of what has been going on recently in some of our Senior School HPE courses.
The Grade 9 students are engaged through the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGFU) model of teaching sport. The students learn the main skills and strategies of a sport, practice the skills over several classes, and conclude by having a professional day where assessments are based on all of the movements together. Additionally, the students recently completed their nutrition unit, which was highlighted by a smoothie-making class. Students were able to choose the ingredients and attempted to make the most healthy and tasty concoction. The students started with blank nutrition labels and had to work out the nutritional value of their smoothie.
Mrs. Priolo’s Grade 11 Healthy Active Living (PPL3O) class took the approach of becoming a “team” this year. Students in this class have enjoyed playing a variety of their favourite sports and improving their skills across TGFU categories. At the end of each class, the group comes together for a huddle, recaps the class and nominates a “gym class hero” of the day. According to Mrs. Priolo, “This fun approach has made the class a blast. The students are competitive, inclusive and it feels like we are all a team!” Click here to watch a fun video of the students.
The Grade 11 Outdoor Education (PAD3O) classes recently attended Brimacombe for a class downhill ski trip, the culmination of their winter activities unit. It certainly was a challenging winter to be outdoors with the inconsistent winter weather this year in southern Ontario. After the March Break, the students will start gearing up for their summative camping trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park on May 10th through 12th. The students will be learning vital camping skills such as fire building, camp set-up, the art of tarp set-up, knots and canoeing. They will also be making their paddles for the trip, which is always a favourite activity.
The Grade 12 Leadership course (PLF4M) continues to shape students into more effective leaders and allow them to work on their leadership style. Earlier in the year, students completed the National Coaching Certification Program’s “Fundamental Movement” course, which teaches coaches working with young children how to help develop fundamental movement skills. Most recently, the class has been collaborating as fitness instructors for a “client” in the class. They have been responsible for constructing a personal fitness plan for their client, which will help their client to achieve fitness-related goals. In the spring, students in this course will be working towards their large summative assignment of leading an event for the School.
The Grade 12 Introductory Kinesiology course (PSK4U) continues to prepare students for university programs in kinesiology, health sciences and more. Students have been learning about the body in relation to the skeletal, muscular, circulatory and energy systems. Most recently, students have developed personal training programs for use over the March Break to help students prepare for their spring sports teams.
The fall and winter terms have been active and engaging ones for our HPE students, and we look forward to the spring term with enthusiasm.
- By Tom Tansley, head of health & physical education
