Physical Education in our School
All pupils in our school are provided with 60 minutes of timetabled PE every week.
All classes are taught at least 5 different PE strands every year (Athletics, Aquatics, Dance, Games, Gymnastics, Outdoor and Adventure) every year.
All classes are taught at least 5 different PE strands every year (Athletics, Aquatics, Dance, Games, Gymnastics, Outdoor and Adventure) every year.
PE Equipment
We are very lucky to have lots of PE equipment in our school. Our Parent Association has fundraised hard over the past few years and we have been able to ensure that we have great resources for our boys and girls. We have also received some amazing PE equipment from courses attended by members of staff and also from the ALDI sticker competitions.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
For the months of September and October the teachers focused on the Games strand during Physical Education instruction. There was a wide range of games taking place throughout the school.
Infants
The boys and girls played some playground games such as target games ('rolling the ball' and 'rolling at a target'), beanbag games ('balancing the beanbag' and 'hit the target').
1st and 2nd Class
The main strand unit focus was on 'Sending, Receiving and Travelling' with a specific emphasis on carrying and striking skills. For warm-up and playground games the children played the games 'Saucers and Domes', 'Zipper Tag', 'Drop the Letters', 'Shipwreck' to develop these skills. In addition to that, the boys and girls played small-sided games in uni-hoc and did lots of drills to practise their moving and striking the puck.
3rd and 4th Class
The boys and girls did soccer drills, 'Cowboys and Indians', 'No-man's Land' and tag rugby. They focused on the skills of catching, throwing, striking and movement (using space).
5th and 6th Class
The children played the games 'Up and Over', 'Throw and Duck', 'Line-ball' and they did lots of different soccer drills. The main skill focus was on ball handling and kicking skills.
Content, Language and Integrated Learning (CLIL)
As a school we have also decided to focus on playground games and the promotion of the Irish language. We focused on this for our School Self Evaluation and thought it would be a good idea to integrate Physical Education and Irish. We have been teaching some playground games to our classes through the Irish language (as part of our Irish lessons and subsequently transferring the language to PE lessons). These games include:
Whilst 5th and 6th class undertook the above-mentioned activities for Games, their main focus was actually on the aquatics strand this month as they attended swimming lessons in Edenderry Swimming Pool.
Infants
The boys and girls played some playground games such as target games ('rolling the ball' and 'rolling at a target'), beanbag games ('balancing the beanbag' and 'hit the target').
1st and 2nd Class
The main strand unit focus was on 'Sending, Receiving and Travelling' with a specific emphasis on carrying and striking skills. For warm-up and playground games the children played the games 'Saucers and Domes', 'Zipper Tag', 'Drop the Letters', 'Shipwreck' to develop these skills. In addition to that, the boys and girls played small-sided games in uni-hoc and did lots of drills to practise their moving and striking the puck.
3rd and 4th Class
The boys and girls did soccer drills, 'Cowboys and Indians', 'No-man's Land' and tag rugby. They focused on the skills of catching, throwing, striking and movement (using space).
5th and 6th Class
The children played the games 'Up and Over', 'Throw and Duck', 'Line-ball' and they did lots of different soccer drills. The main skill focus was on ball handling and kicking skills.
Content, Language and Integrated Learning (CLIL)
As a school we have also decided to focus on playground games and the promotion of the Irish language. We focused on this for our School Self Evaluation and thought it would be a good idea to integrate Physical Education and Irish. We have been teaching some playground games to our classes through the Irish language (as part of our Irish lessons and subsequently transferring the language to PE lessons). These games include:
- Glanadh an Tí
- Xonna agus Oanna
- Lacha, Lacha, Gé
- Gafa
- Sciob an Bagún
- Cluiche Hopskotch
- Queenie I-O
- Na Cat agus na Lucha
- Eireaball
Whilst 5th and 6th class undertook the above-mentioned activities for Games, their main focus was actually on the aquatics strand this month as they attended swimming lessons in Edenderry Swimming Pool.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
The boys and girls from Junior Infants to 2nd class are focusing on the gymnastics strand for this period. They are being taught age/curriculum-appropriate gymnastic skills with a qualified coach every Wednesday. 3rd and 4th class are focusing on Aquatics as they are attending swimming lessons in Edenderry Swimming pool. 5th and 6th class are doing Tag Rugby lessons with Gráinne from Edenderry RFC.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
Our focus for January and February is on Dance. With the bad weather and having no PE hall we decided that it would be the ideal time to give our full attention to the Dance strand. Junior Infants to 6th class have been busy doing Line Dancing with Mrs. O' Sullivan. All classes are also using the Dance Time DVD to learn some traditional Irish dances.
Check out this video of 1st and 2nd class showing off their line dancing moves!
First and Second class are doing their six-week block of swimming lessons in Edenderry Swimming Pool during January and February.
Hurling
All classes from Junior infants to sixth participated in hurling lessons with Kelly Perkins (GPO with Broadford Hurling Club). They had great fun practising their skills and improving their physical fitness.
All classes from Junior infants to sixth participated in hurling lessons with Kelly Perkins (GPO with Broadford Hurling Club). They had great fun practising their skills and improving their physical fitness.
March/April
For the month of March all classes had planned to focus on the fundamental movement skills of 'throwing and catching'. We were hoping to use the fabulous resources from Move Well-Move Often as a guide to teach the appropriate skills.
Before the school closed on March 12th, the teachers had planned to do the following activities to practise the skills of 'Throwing and Catching' throughout the school:
- Catch If You Can
- Roll and React
- Bounce and React
- Throwing and catching a beanbag - individual and in pairs (PSSI lessons)
- Rolling a quoit
- Out in front game
- Target throw
- Create a game using small balls
- Circuit training and students creating their own circuits
Land PAWS - Water Safety
With the Grand Canal situated so close to our school we take water safety very seriously in Killina. As part of our PE programme, 1st and 2nd class complete Irish Water's Land PAWS water safety lessons every year. This gives the boys and girls a great insight into dangers associated with different water sources. Further information can be found on www.watersafety.ie.
The boys and girls in 1st and 2nd class designed some lovely posters to promote awareness of water safety.
The boys and girls in 1st and 2nd class designed some lovely posters to promote awareness of water safety.