November 2012 PE Stars

Here are the students who were voted "PE Stars" by their classes.  Each month students are asked to confidentially vote for one student in their class who they believe showed the five star qualities most consistently.  The five star qualities are:  Work Ethic, Leadership, Positive Attitude, Focus, & Sportsmanship.  Congratulations to the students below!

3rd Grade Stars

4th Grade Stars

5th Grade Stars

6th Grade Stars

Do Electronic Devices Disrupt Sleep?

A recent study in the Journal of Applied Ergonomics suggests that the blue light from tablets and cell phones may disrupt an important sleep hormone in the body called melatonin.  Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center discovered that two hours of light exposure to the eyes from backlit electronic devices could suppress melatonin by about 22%.

Melatonin is an important hormone released in the brain at night that helps the body fall into a deep, restorative sleep.  Without proper melatonin release, it can be difficult falling and staying asleep.  If you feel like you have not been sleeping well, try limiting your use of electronic devices at night, and instead incorporate relaxing strategies like reading a paper book.

Reference:  http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=3074&setappvar=page%281%29

October 2012 PE Stars

Here are the students who were voted "PE Stars" for the month of October.  Each of these students showed excellence in the following qualities:  Work Ethic, Positive Attitude, Focus, Sportsmanship, and Leadership.  Awesome work & keep it up!

3rd Grade Stars

4th Grade Stars

5th Grade Stars

6th Grade Stars

Fitness for Life & Dancing with Russians

Last summer I spent two weeks cruising along the Baltic Sea with my wife Melanie and her parents. We saw many amazing places throughout the countries of Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Germany, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. It was an awesome trip. In the video below we were dining at a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Russia. As we ate, we were entertained by a musical quartet, featuring instruments and songs unique to Russian culture.  Near the end of their performance, I was approached by one of the band members to join them in performing a Russian dance. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to give it a try!  The crowd cheered & laughed and it was a lot of fun!

Reminiscing on that experience, it makes me think of a particular quote I'm fond of:  "Always be ready, so you never have to get ready." I think this quote relates to health & fitness quite well.  When you have a strong, mobile, healthy body, the world can offer many more opportunities to you. I was confident going up in front of everyone to learn the dance because I knew my body and mind were capable of doing it.  Without that confidence, I may have declined going up there and would have missed out on a super cool life experience.  So why do I stay fit?  To fully participate in life!

2012 Qt. 1 Dynamic Movement

2012 1st Quarter Highlights - Part 2

2012 1st Quarter Highlights - Part 1