Newtown High School Blog

Orientation of freshman Physical Education/Health classes includes class expectations, preparing portfolio folders, and a tour of the facilities. All PE Health students are reminded to check the white board in the main hallway daily for their PE/Health class location.

The High School Physical Education department, in association with the United States Army, is offering PE students the opportunity to participate in the physically challenging experience of rock climbing.

A culminating experience as the semester quickly comes to an end, Mrs. Lombardo’s junior Physical Education class has field day which included a variety of childhood games.

Junior Physical Education students are given time in the computer labs to create their final PE experience. Students will present their Power Point to classmates during the scheduled exam time and hand-in their projects to their PE Health teacher. Junior presentations will occur in B150/152.

Physical Education classes take advantage of the weather and the stadium facility prior to its closing (due to construction) with a variety of recreational activities.

Taking advantage of the beautiful day, Ms. McLean’s Weight Training class participates in a leg work-out at the track.

Mr. Childs’ and Ms. McLean’s freshman PE classes take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and play Ultimate Football on the back field. Ultimate Football is an introductory game for Flag Football.

Physical Education classes were held outside today taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Ms. McLean, Mr. Childs, and Mrs. Lombardo combined their classes during a part of the lunch period to play Capture the Flag. Students are reminded that PE and Health classes will be intermingled depending on the weather and they need to be prepared for either class.

A temporary wall has been constructed to separate the gym and related areas from the main lobby.

Congratulations to the second semester sophomore Physical Education students who completed and passed the new Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment. The “3rd Generation” state mandated test was administered in March. Each student was assessed in the areas of flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance. Of the 177 students tested, 89 (50%) of the students passed all four tests.  Well done! The chart above shows how students performed on each of the four tested areas.

The First Annual Spring Volleyball Extravaganza and the last unit taught in the gymnasium prior to construction. Students should check the PE white board daily for class location. Beginning Thursday, April1, 2010,  Physical Education and Health lessons will be intermingled to take advantage of outdoor activities (PE) and classroom (Health) activities during inclement weather.

Students in PE classes are in action prior to the closing of the gymnasium and pool. Mr. O’Connell’s junior class plays floor hockey, while Mr. Child’s class is in the pool playing Water Polo.

The locker rooms will be INACCESSIBLE from approximately April 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010.  All students are advised to remove any and all personal belongings from the locker rooms at this time.

Students in Ms. McLean freshman class are working out in the fitness center before the construction begins in this area. The fitness center will be relocated to room C081 during construction.

Officer Stinson, Newtown’s K-9 Officer, conducted a demonstration on K-9 training, handling, and tracking methods. Classes involved included Personal and Business Law as well as PE/Health classes. Students viewed Officer Stinson commanding Baro to attack Officer Penna, who was wearing a training sleeve over his arm. Many students asked questions and were amazed at the strength and abilities of Baro.

Tags: Police

Officer Stinson, Newtown’s K-9 Officer, will be at our school conducting a demonstration on K-9 training and discovery methods. This event is scheduled to occur on February 19 from 10:09 – 10:56 (Class 1) and 11:01 – 12:30 (class 8). Classes involved include Personal and Business Law as well as PE/Health classes. Students will attend the demonstration only during their scheduled class time. Any questions please contact Melissa Cacioppo at cacioppom@newtown.k12.ct.us.

Juniors in Mrs. Lombardo’s physical education class are currently in a swimming unit. For a class activity,students were put into groups and created synchronized swimming routines. Students were creative with props and various swimming formations.  Students battled for Gold, Silver, and Bronze honors!

All first semester Physical Education/Health students were provided with a lock for class use. During the student’s scheduled PE/H exam, time will be given to clean out PE lockers and return locks to the PE teacher. Any locks and/or items left in the main locker room area after the last exam on Friday, January 22, will be removed and the unclaimed items donated. Per the class syllabus, locks that are not returned are subject to a replacement fee.

The Physical Education staff would like to congratulate all the students who participated in the first Annual Holiday Volleyball Extravaganza. All Physical Education classes came together for this tournament and were divided into mixed grade level teams.

The Class Champions were: Read the rest of this entry »

The juniors in Mrs. Lombardo’s Physical Education classes recently finished a doubles badminton tournament. Each class declared a champion. The champions from the four classes played a final championship tournament to determine the ultimate doubles team. Congratulations to Conner Donnelly and Kyle Hanlon for being named the Ultimate Doubles Team in Badminton.

There are still openings available for Physical Education Elective (Period 8, Semester 2). The course offers students experiences in a broad range of lifetime activities including several Project Adventure activities. Since a health component is not taught, the course counts as an elective toward graduation (it does NOT count as PE 9, PE 10 or PE 11). Like all PE courses, the PE Elective class is a half credit course. If you are interested, email your counselor or see them before January 12, 2010. It’s a great course for anyone looking for physical exercise and challenge or for anyone considering a career in physical education or exercise science.

Using skills taught during their swim unit (hand sculling and “eggbeater” kicking), freshman students choreographed a synchronized swimming routine in Physical Education.

Congratulations to Mr. Jeremy O’Connell for successfully completing the Challenge Course Technician workshop and exam through Project Adventure. The certification is designed for individuals who operate standard introductory Project Adventure activities.

Following their in-school bowling unit, students in Mr. O’Connell’s and Mrs. Lombardo’s sophomore Physical Education classes went on a field trip to Brookfield Lanes. For several of the students this was their first real bowling experience. Congratulations to Chris Tenney (132) from Mr. O’Connell’s class and Anthony Maki (124) and Jennifer Radatovich (108) from Mrs. Lombardo’s class for their top bowling scores.

Congratulations to the first semester sophomore Physical Education students who completed and passed the improved Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment. The “3rd Generation” state-mandated test, administered during the month of October, assessed students on four health-related fitness components: flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic endurance. Of the 195 students tested, 131 or 67% of the students passed all four tests. Well done! The chart above [click to enlarge] shows how students performed on each of the four tested areas.

The back gymnasium has been transformed into a five lane bowling alley with sophomore classes enjoying this lifetime activity.

As construction impacts the physical structure of the high school, it also impacts the scheduling and coordination of educational and extracurricular activities.  The Physical Education department is effectively modifying the activities and venues that are part of classes to adapt to the demands of construction.

Tenth Grade Physical Education teachers are administering the 3^rd Generation Physical Fitness Test to all sophomore classes. This fitness assessment is part of an ongoing process that measures and informs students, teachers and parents of a students’ fitness level in four health related areas. (Pictured above [clockwise from top left]: Mile run, Partial Curl Up Test, Sit & Reach, Push Up Test)

All first semester Physical Education students were assigned a small locker and provided with a lock to store PE clothes and to be used during classes to prevent thefts. The long lockers are for class time use only; they are not for overnight storage. Please do not leave PE clothes in these lockers. During PE class, if an item (Ex. back pack) does not fit into the long locker students should take the item with them to class.

Athletic lockers and team rooms will not be open during the school day for class use.

Each summer the custodial staff drains the pool, completes necessary maintenance, and paints the bottom.  Here are some pictures that you can’t get during the school year. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Pool

In conjunction with the US Army, Physical Education students had the opportunity to participate in the physically challenging experience of rock wall climbing. This activity is a segue to our upcoming Project Adventure Program. Read the rest of this entry »

The results of the 2nd Generation Physical Fitness Test administered to all 2nd semester sophomore PE classes showed continued improvement. The state mandated tests assess students on four health related fitness components: flexibility, muscular endurance, muscular strength and aerobic endurance. Of the 197 students tested during the month of March, 102 students or 51.7% passed all four tests. This is an increase in achievement of 4.1% passing from first semester (47.6%). Congratulations to all the second semester sophomore PE students who passed their physical fitness tests.

You can see the scores here >>> physical fitness results

The Physical Education staff reminds all students to dress appropriately for the weather, to wear sunscreen, and to check for ticks at the conclusion of any outdoor activity.

Students in Jeremy O’Connell’s Physical Education class get their hearts pumping with some Promenading (above) and some Circle Right (below) during a unit on Square Dancing.

Tags: Dance

Students in grades 10, 11, and 12 who cannot fit the required PE/Health class into their regular schedule may satisfy the requirement by enrolling in summer school through Newtown Continuing Education.  Class will meet from 7:15am to 10:30 am, July 06, 2009 – July 31, 2009 (M-F).  Interested students should contact Newtown Continuing Education.

Tags: Summer

The Physical Education/Health Department is in the initial stages of exploring the possibility of bringing Project Adventure to Newtown High School. Project Adventure is a program committed to challenging students to go beyond their self-perceived boundaries and to work as a team to communicate, solve problems, and experience a level of success. Project Adventure classes are currently taught at the intermediate and middle schools. The department is looking into indoor and outdoor high ropes courses as well as trust and cooperative initiatives to enhance teamwork and personal confidence.

The Master Schedule is developed in the spring of the previous year and “tweaked” throughout the summer to accommodate as many student requests as possible.  Our current staffing and space issues have made it difficult to grant all student requests for electives.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Electives

Every first semester PE/Health student was assigned a locker and provided with his/her own lock to be used in the locker room.  During class students are to keep their belongings locked up in a long locker to prevent theft.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Locker

Since Thanksgiving break, several PE classes have been involved in a Badminton Unit concluding with either a singles or doubles tournament. Class winners to date:

Period 3: Maynul Hassan and Erica Raymond (Mrs. Davey, grade 11)
Period 4: Matt Baier and Katie Volkers (Mrs. Davey, grade 11)
Period 5: Paul Michaud (Mr. Winsett, grade 11)
Period 6: Nicole Elias and Lisa Vendel (Mr. Winsett, grade 11)
Griffen Paynter and Carson Leon-Gambetta (Ms. McLean, gr. 9)
Period 7: Brendan McNamara and Michael Lord (Ms. McLean, grade 9)
Matt Bowell and Jeff Schmidt (Mr. Strait, grade 11)
Period 8: Sean Kennedy (Mr. Winsett, grade 11)

Tags: Badminton

The Fitness Center will be open daily after school from 2:00-4:00 PM for staff and student use. If there is a change to the times or schedule, information will be posted on the white boards outside the main gym and on the fitness center doors.  (Reminder: No students are permitted in the fitness center without supervision.)

Tags: Fitness