School’s in, recess is out at Seven Oaks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/09/2015 (3927 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Recess is an endangered species in the Seven Oaks School Division.

This year, eight division elementary schools are adopting the balanced-school-day approach, which drops a recess and lunch break from the school day in favour of three long learning periods broken up by two lengthy nutrition and exercise breaks.

The belief is students are fresher and more attentive throughout the afternoon, and teachers don’t have to break off in the middle of a lesson.

While it has been tried elsewhere in Manitoba with limited success, the number of Seven Oaks schools using it has doubled from a year ago.

“It was really the staff who said it’s something we want to do,” Margaret Park School principal Cynthia Dutton said. “We really looked at a different way of learning. We could put specialities like music and phys ed in one period.”

Other schools advised Margaret Park kids would have far more productive exercise times — it wouldn’t all be lost to putting on and taking off parkas, mitts and boots. Everyone would have lots of time to be active.

Some balanced-school-day schools use 100-minute learning periods, followed by food breaks and then exercise, but Margaret Park goes 90 minutes and then, instead of calling a complete break, allows kids to eat while continuing instructional time.

“It’s a much better ending to the day. People are feeling much more productive,” Margaret Park vice-principal Ross Meacham said. The school has been using it for three years and has asked to extend it for another five. “It’s something that’s organic — we’re going to move cautiously.”

Seven Oaks superintendent Brian O’Leary said staff and parents make the decision at each school.

No school in Seven Oaks has reverted back to the standard day after trying it, he said. Forest Park, Riverbend, West St. Paul, Governor Semple, Arthur E. Wright, Constable Edward Finney, Amber Trails and Margaret Park will all use variations this year.

O’Leary noted there’s been little analysis here of its effectiveness on learning — it’s mainly anecdotal observations.

“There’s very little research — it appears to be a Canadian phenomemon, and mainly Ontario,” O’Leary said. “It results in a more settled day and more academic focus.”

Cindy Pasternak said she’s a huge fan of the balanced school day’s positive experience for her children — her third and youngest son is going into Grade 3 at Margaret Park next week.

“I absolutely do — it makes sense,” Pasternak said. “Teachers felt the students were more engaged, especially in the afternoon.

“They need large-muscle movement; 15 minutes is not enough time,” she added. Her elder boys had been frustrated with the traditional recess not giving them enough time to do much of anything.

It’s the lack of research that led parent Michelle Peters to join others at Collicutt School in Seven Oaks in declining the balanced school day.

“I think there is an opportunity for the Seven Oaks School Division or the province to assess the impact of the BSD. I have spoken to some parents who like the new schedule, especially if their children don’t eat breakfast; and other parents complain that their children are more tired and aggressive on this new schedule,” she said.

There are now 34 Manitoba schools using the balanced school day, a provincial government official said.

Meanwhile, Dalhousie School (Pembina Trails) discontinued the balanced day in 2009, Reston Elementary School (Fort La Bosse) in 2011, and McCreary School (Turtle River) in 2013, said the official. The only high school to try the system, Teulon Collegiate (Interlake), dropped it two years ago.

 

— — —

 

There’s no end to the innovation in the Seven Oaks School Division this year.

Superintendent Brian O’Leary said four schools will try what Edmonton calls the apple program, which is a network of 50 schools around Edmonton linked with the University of Alberta that focuses on fitness and nutrition.

Seven Oaks will try it at Governor Semple, Elwick, Constable Edward Finney, and Margaret Park schools.

“(There’s) a common language, a common approach to fitness and nutrition, and finding every opportunity to learn about nutrition,” O’Leary said. “They’d have a monthly event to teach the kids healthy eating, like salads.”

The program would expose the kids to a different fruit or vegetable each month, and the kids will, the division hopes, educate their parents at home. At school, older students will lead younger ones in activities.

“It’s changing student behaviour, melting pounds off the kids, changing parent behaviour,” he said.

 

— — —

 

There will be two significant changes to high school varsity sports this year: the introduction of a transgender policy and a redshirt policy, which aims to restrict the practice of top athletes switching schools to stack a potential provincial champion.

Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association executive director Morris Glimcher said he’s currently not aware of any transgender student who’s trying out for a varsity team, but “people are very accepting” of the policy.

The transgender student will indicate at the school level a choice to try out for a girls’ team or a boys’ team, but cannot play alongside girls in one sport and boys in another. “They have to identify themselves (to play) with one gender. As long as the school accepts it, I think it’s OK,” Glimcher said.

It will be left to schools to figure out changing-room accommodations.

The redshirt rule, widely used elsewhere in Canada and the U.S., requires varsity students to sit out a season if they want to switch from their neighbourhood school to play on a potentially stacked team or for a particular coach at another school.

Glimcher said he already knows of several students who have forfeited their upcoming Grade 11 season because they want to play for a particular school in Grade 12.

Transferring students are still allowed to practise at their new school.

There have been several appeals, but only two have been granted: one family argued they legitimately moved into a new neighbourhood; in the second case, a student was being bullied at the former school.

Transfer issues in recent years have all been in the so-called big four of football, volleyball, hockey, and basketball.

Meanwhile, the MHSAA is wrestling with the possibility of cutting its four school-population classifications to three, and is considering adding rugby and lacrosse to sports competing for provincial championships. In June, delegates at the MHSAA annual general meeting defeated a motion that would have dropped urban high school soccer, Glimcher said. Conflicts with club soccer, having to be off fields by 6 p.m. to make way for youth soccer, and not having enough referees to handle matches between 4 and 6 p.m. were the reasons cited. They remain issues, he said.

For more on the transgender policy, go to: wfp.to/transgender.

For more on the redshirt policy, go to: wfp.to/redshirt.

 

— — —

 

The tragic death of 13-year-old Kelsey Brewster last winter has led to significant safety changes for school ski trips.

The Pilot Mound girl died in March four days after she fell on a Holiday Mountain ski hill she was not qualified to ski.

Helmets are now mandatory, said Darren Thomas, recently named risk manager of the Manitoba School Boards Association. Previously, it was “strongly recommended.”

Students must clearly display some form of visible marker that indicates what hills they’re capable of skiing, he said.

“We’re suggesting (coloured) armbands — it definitely has to be a marker,” he said.

A 15-member committee studied the regulations this summer, including teachers, ski-hill operators, and Keith Thomas, who retired as MSBA risk manager this past spring. He was succeeded by his son.

The policy manual “talks in much stronger terms than before about pre-trips,” said Keith Thomas. “Safety is an important part of the pre-trip — that is stressed more than ever before.”

Students must be evaluated by ski-hill staff before being allowed to ski down runs designated within their ability level. Also, equipment has to fit properly.

The new policy manual stops short of requiring an adult to be at the top of every hill to check children’s markers.

“There may not be an adult at the top of every hill, but there’s supposed to be an adult or two on every slope,” many of whom are themselves skiing, said Keith Thomas. “There need to be people in the vicinity.”

Manitoba’s chief medical examiner’s office is still investigating the fatality and said this week it will be two more months before any decision on an inquest into Kelsey’s death.

To view the policy, go to:

wfp.to/skipolicy.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca