Back to School

Page 1

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017

| A19

north shore news nsnews.com

BA

o t CK

SCHOOL IS & FALL REG

TRATION

Meghan Williams and her brother Matthew take a break at the Windsor Secondary turf field recently. The teen siblings are avid soccer players. Schools across the North Shore have recognized the importance of teaching physical literacy and providing activity opportunities to students throughout the school day. PHOTO MIKE WAKEFIELD

Physical literacy focus includes class time

ROSALIND DUANE rduane@nsnews.com

Agility ladders are becoming as common as crayons in West Vancouver primary classrooms.

And that’s by design. An agility ladder is a piece of exercise equipment that can be rolled out on a flat surface. It looks like a ladder lying down, and users can practise various types of movement such as skipping through the rungs,

shuffling, jumping, and more. It is meant to promote co-ordination, focus, and cardio. The equipment is just one small piece of the plan as the West Vancouver district school board refines its system-wide approach to physical literacy. “The importance of teachers creating quality movement opportunities for students to become more physically literate is not a new concept in West Vancouver schools, but what is different is the district’s systemwide approach to nurturing the development

of healthy, confident, competent movers,” explains Diane Nelson, director of instruction, learning and innovation. For years, the district has focused on three domains of learning that worked somewhat independently of each other: cognitive (such as memory, understanding, and attention), emotional (such as self-regulation and self-awareness of emotions), and physical (such as fundamental sports skills taught during gym class). Each domain had a district leader working

with teachers to design and implement programming. About six years ago, the district brought together the cognitive and emotional domains, recognizing the affect emotional well-being has on student learning. Emotional awareness and skills to recognize and self-regulate those emotions are now a component of classroom learning, contributing to regular academic study. Last year, the district decided to bring

See Activity page 21

SAVE NOW $500 ON VALOR FIREPLACES!

LIMITED TIME OFFER!

$300 FortisBC rebate + $200 Valor’s Fireplace termination special! To qualify for promo purchase & install an energy efficient Valor natural gas fireplace before December 15, 2017! Offer applies only on approved units and can’t be used with any other discount.

Call Now:

“ When the power fails, your Valor won’t ”

THE ORIGINAL RADIANT GAS FIREPLACETM

604.291.0342 www.solacehomecomfort.ca

HOME HEATING STRAIGHT FROM THE HEARTH!

4025 Hastings Street, Burnaby


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Back to School by North Shore News Features - Issuu