Culture & Fitness Hand-in-Hand National Fitness Foundation Innovation Challenge
My students need Pull Buoy Hula Hoops and Swim Noodles to learn and practice fundamental motor skills, gain cognitive knowledge, practice various strategies, and participate in team building activities.
Our students come from a variety of different economic backgrounds with over 72.9% of our students receiving free or reduced lunch, which is 50.1% higher than the State’s average and 61.3% higher than the County’s average. Our school is one of the most ethnically diverse schools on Hawaii Island (90% minority), as well as the largest elementary on the West Side, serving 1000 students. Our English language learner population has reached 26%, and our special education students are 7% of the total population. We are a Title I school. Our school is home to the only deaf education program with a licensed specialist in the State of Hawaii. We have the only IFC program on the island. We also have a large SPED population; most are participating in an integrated classroom setting with support staff.
Because our students come from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds, and struggle with their language acquisition, there is an ever-growing academic gap.
My Project
I service 1000 Kindergarten through 5th grade students, so this project would impact a large number of children. The children need exposure to various health and fitness concepts, practicing these, and the opportunity to use various equipment, which they can then incorporate into their lives outside of school. We have outgrown our physical space and the only physical education space given to me to use for all my classes is a small patch of grass between the last classroom and the middle school.
Students will be using the hula hoops to learn and practice fundamental motor skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling, striking; concepts such as under, over, through; and having the opportunity to be able to create their own games.
They will use the swimming noodles to learn Ihe' throwing, a Hawaiian Cultural game, which incorporates overhand throwing. The hula Hoops and Noodles will provide the students the opportunity to gain cognitive knowledge, practice various strategies, participate in team building and cooperative activities, and have exposure to cultural games and activities they may otherwise not experience.
Obtaining the hula hoops and noodles will allow me to teach my students, aligning all lessons to the National Physical Education Standards, and will allow my students to have an extraordinary experience while in my classes. Physically literate students builds healthy lifestyles, which carries through to adulthood, thus encouraging the students to continue being active throughout their lives.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Duell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
