Out and About at Ākau Tangi - Term 3

Sports and physical skills play a crucial role in enhancing our physical health.   We are always grateful for the varied sports experiences Åkau Tangi provides.  This week we worked with experts in the field of basketball and gymnastics.   Gymnastics involved lots of fun with specific body movements and muscle control.  We also worked on developing our coordination and balance. 

Muscle strength and flexibility was a focus especially on the mats and bars. Strengthening core muscles, in particular, is beneficial for our overall stability and for things that you wouldn't necessarily think of when thinking about big muscle gross motor skills. For example, strength, core stability and good balance supports good posture and even helps with pencil grip when it comes to writing !  

Ball skills, such as throwing, catching, and dribbling help us practise many skills. We had to work hard to develop and improve our hand-eye coordination as well as our spatial awareness.  In Tautoru we are talking a lot about awareness , awareness of self and awareness of others.  This fits nicely together and really helps students understand each other, giving each other what they need in our learning environments,  inside and out.  

Our Social Skills were definitely under the microscope.  We had to dial up our social intelligence, kindness and the skills we know that make good team players.  So much to consider while working with other humans ! .  We fostered teamwork, communication, and cooperation.   The hardest lesson to learn sometimes  is to handle both winning and losing gracefully.  It means being able to celebrate the win but also being considerate and kind too.  We did this well and it is a continuing work in progress.  This is not to say that we don't or can’t experience disappointment, sadness, competitiveness or frustration .  There are no emotions that shouldn’t be felt so we make sure we cover the full spectrum of what we feel daily without lessening the mana of each emotion.   We talk about what emotions mean, how they make our bodies and minds feel and most importantly how we can respond.  This all involves teaching and modelling on the job as it happens.  Ākau Tangi provided us with lots of opportunities to do this. 

We return to school feeling a new appreciation and enthusiasm for sports and physical activity..  Learning sports skills is just a taster and often opens doors for our kids about all the fun to be had when being part of a team.  Boosting self confidence and self esteem at the same time.  

For some it takes a couple of visits, a few attempts or some sheer perseverance,  but each time we recognise improvements and progress.  Health and PE and getting out and about and in amongst ‘it’  is a key part of our local curriculum and Positive Education and Wellbeing Strategy.  We see this as a key part of our job - encouraging healthy life long positive attitudes towards Physical Health and Wellbeing.