Hello Families of Maplewood ES,

Welcome back to a new school year of Physical Education! I'm so excited and thankful to have your Mustangs in the gym this year! My passions include physical activity and health, learning and teaching, and travel, and I bring the travel into the gym at the end of every class, when we cool down and reflect with a virtual video.

My goal is that your child is safe, happy, and actively engaged in physical education, while developing the social emotional skills to be an amazing team player for life!

What We're Working On

We're kicking things off by learning our gym routines and procedures, all through fun games and activities that keep safety front and center. We're also building a strong foundation of respect: respecting ourselves, respecting each other, respecting our equipment, and respecting our wonderful school.

Students will be diving into cooperative games designed to build teamwork, because remember, teamwork makes the dream work!

Upcoming Events

• Fitnessgram begins the 2nd or 3rd week of school for grades 3-5. This is a required test. The tests include BMI (height/weight), Pacer, push-ups, curl-ups, sit & reach, and trunk lift, given at the beginning and end of the year. If you have any concerns, please contact me and I will see what accommodations can be made.
• Marathon Kids / WOW Time: Maplewood finished 11th in Austin ISD last year, so let's see if we can climb into the top 10 this year! WOW Time now includes an extra 20 minutes a day, so every student gets 135 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a week (30 minutes of MVP a day), per SB 19. The Marathon Kids program will be part of WOW Time along with structured MVP activities to help students build healthy habits for life.
• Shoe reminder: please make sure your student wears tennis shoes or shoes they can safely be active in. No crocs, dress shoes, or boots. All students are active daily, Monday through Friday.
• Water bottle: please send your child with a water bottle so they can stay hydrated! Water only, please. No Gatorade, sports drinks, juice, or soda.

Gym Day Checklist

• Sneakers only (no crocs or boots)
• Water bottle (water only, please)
• Be ready! Active Monday through Friday

Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to a fun year in Physical Education with a focus on safety, building healthy habits and routines through wellness lessons, playing fun skills-based games aligned with our curriculum, and growing strong social emotional skills and the 3 Cs (cooperation, collaboration, and communication) of teamwork!

Questions or Concerns?

Please don't hesitate to reach out at cathy.d.garcia@austinisd.org

Thanks,
Coach Cathy