Some Important Announcements: 

We are reaching out to gather your thoughts and preferences regarding the redevelopment of our school’s playground.

As you may know, the Woodbine Elementary Playground is set to undergo a redevelopment over the next few years, and we want to ensure that the new design reflects the desires and needs of both our school community and community at large. Your feedback will play a crucial role in shaping the future of this beloved space for our children.

Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey. Your responses will be kept confidential, and the information gathered will be used solely for the purpose of community feedback. As an integral part of our school community, your input is important. Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JC99TKN. We thank you in advance for your time and valuable feedback. The Woodbine Elementary Playground Project Committee woodbineplayground@gmail.com

The Grade 3’s are reflecting on being good citizens and want to give back.  They are collecting gift cards for Inn from the Cold, a Calgary organization that seeks to support families by providing stability in times of crisis.  We are looking for gift card donations of any amount so that families are able to purchase items as needed.  Some suggested stores are Superstore, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Safeway, Winners, Tim Hortons.  We will be setting up a Christmas tree where you will be able to pin your gift card during our Winter Solstice Concert.

December 1, 2023

Happy December! Here’s what happened this week in Phys-Ed….

Div 2 

• Students were introduced to “The Volley”. They worked hard individually, with partners and in groups to practice this skill
• Students warmed up with games of spin the pin tag and belly tag

Div 1

• Students reinforced their catching skills by playing “Spot On”, “Beat that Card”, “Touchdowns” 
• Students warmed up with line tag & spin the pin tag

November 24, 2023

Div 1 

This week the K-3’s focused on catching various objects in Phys-Ed. We started off the week by learning the “Catching Cues” (Ready Position, Reach Grab Give, Over Belly Button= Thumbs Touching, Under Belly Button= Pinkies Touching). We worked through different stations practicing this technique. Some favourites were the footballs, “ice cream cones”, koosh balls, and bouncy balls. Students also warmed up with some games of RPS Tag and Everyone’s It Tag. 

Div 2 

The Grade 4-6’s have begun their volleyball unit. We started off the week with going over the forearm pass and the cues to follow while performing this type of pass. Students worked hard on their ready position and being able to move their feet to get to the ball. They worked individually and with a partner before moving into the passing line drill where they had to follow their ball. We really tried to remember that a good pass does not come from swinging the arms. We are going to continue working on forearm passing next week and move into some other important skills in volleyball.

Nov 17, 2023

We refined our overhand throwing skills this week by following the keys to success. We started off the short week by playing “Freedom Catch”, a tag game where students get saved by catching a dodgeball from another played and moving into “Swamp Ball” where students had to catch a ball in their swamp in order to be freed. All grade levels tried a game called “Castaways” which was a huge success for every class. Each group had an island and 4 pins. The players on the islands had to protect their pins from getting knocked over while also overhand throwing the dodgeballs at other islands. We used scooter boards as boats for their team members to move around the ocean to collect the dodgeballs. Grade ⅚ students also tried a game called “3 Ball” which involved lots of running, tagging and throwing.

November 3, 2023

This week we continued with some “Spooky” games and then moved into targeted work on overhand throwing. Students were taught the “Keys to Success” to perform an overhand throw and partook in some games to reinforce the skill. Most grades played a throwing and catching game called “Hungry Hungry Monsters”, all grades tried “Partner Catch Tag” where they practiced passing a ball with a partner and became a tagger when the music stopped. Div 1 students did Build 1, and 2 of “Prairie Dog Pickoff”, and Div 2 students  tried out build 2 and 3 of the game. Where they had to guard their pin from getting knocked over by a ball. Grade ⅚ students also played a game called “Spaceball”, where they practiced overhand throwing and dodging!

Oct 27, 2023

This week we embraced the “Spooky” season and turned some games into Halloween themed. We reinforced our understanding of  underhand throwing in games like “Pickles in the Pumpkin Patch” and “Pumpkin Pick Off”. Some fun tag games included “Witches Hat Tag” and “Zombie Tag”. Students loved these! The Div 2 students worked on strategies and tactics in a game of “Trick or Treat Tag”, while Div 1 students worked on locomotor and counting skills in a game of “Haunted House”. Some students on Friday partook in themed stations, which worked on underhand throwing, hand eye coordination and other skills.

Oct 20, 2023

This week we moved onto working on our underhand throwing. Students were introduced to the important cues to perform an underhand throw (Face your target, bring your throwing arm back, step with your opposite foot, release the object between your knee and waist, and follow through to your target). We practiced this skill in some small and large group activities. Like “Hot Potato Laps” where students would warm up by passing a bean bag with their partner, whenever the music stopped if they had the beanbag in their hand they would run a lap. Students were encouraged to set goals for themselves to see how many successful passes they could complete. The Div 1 students played an underhand throwing game called “Decorate the Cookie”, where they used various objects of various sizes and weights to throw into their hoop. All grade levels played “Make it, Take it” where there were several dots on the ground and different buckets that they had to throw to. If they were successful with their throw, then they could bring the dot they were standing on back to their home base. Div 2 students also played a game called “Champions and Challengers”, that worked on underhand throwing and awareness!

October 13, 2023

A lot has been happening the past few weeks in Phys-Ed. We spent 2 weeks learning new and old recess games like wall ball, four square, switch, slam ball, window ball, and elephant ball. We spent some time in PE learning and going over the rules and now students have been able to play these games at recess, which has been a success!

This week we moved into our bowling unit by learning the 4 cues to perform an underhand roll. We played different type of bowling games like Blackout Bowling, BINGO Bowling and “Bowling for Dollars” which helped students learn about money and used their counting skills. 

Important Information: 

The events in Israel, the Gaza Strip and other parts of the Middle East are cause for concern around the world and impact many people in our own community. We recognize that for CBE’s Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian families, the impact is deeply personal and devastating.   

Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students. For some, this conflict may be particularly triggering due to personal experiences, or they may have strong reactions due to personal or family ties to Israel or Palestine. Many of our community members are concerned about what the future holds in the days and weeks ahead for the citizens of both countries and the world.  

As a learning community it is our duty to uphold human rights and to protect the well-being of every individual so that they feel a sense of belonging at school and work. We will not tolerate hate in any form in our schools and at Woodbine School. 

We understand that with the significant media coverage of these events, children of all ages will have questions or concerns and will reach out to adults, both teachers and parents, to help them make sense of the issue. Having the ability to engage in these conversations is important and requires the ability to listen, provide information, and engage in honest dialogue with children. We recognize children may have questions and we encourage families to answer these questions according to their own family beliefs and values. It is when children can engage in thoughtful conversations with a caring adult that they are able to build resilience for themselves and compassion for others.   

September 15, 2023 

Div 2 

Students participated in a variety of active games including “Cone Flip 4 Corners” which has students advancing from each corner every time they made a successful cone flip and interacting positively with peers. They also played “Wheel and Deal” which was a teamwork activity that involved making trades with other groups and using strategy to be the first team to collect all required items. Some other activities this week included “Twister Tag” and “Cone Knockout”. 

Div 1 

We continued with practicing locomotor and non locomotor movements in a variety of games. “Around the World” was a game that involved working with dice and deciding which number was greater than/less than, while moving from each corner of the gym. We worked on nonlocomotor movements while standing in a hoop and practiced jumping and landing with two feet and hopping with one foot on the “trampolines” (hula hoops). Some K/1/2 classes played a game of “Zookeepers” where they had to pick an animal from our “zoo” and move around the gym. 

September 8, 2023

We have had a fabulous first few days back in the gym! The emphasis this week was on practicing routines and team building/cooperation type activities. The Grade 1-6 students all partook in a game called “Shipwreck” which emphasized moving with control of our bodies and communication among group mates. 

Grade 3-6’s 

These students tried out the “Crazy Card Challenge” which was a fun icebreaker game that had them completing many silly challenges. We were able to time the classes, and they are eager to try this game again to see if they can beat their time! 

Div 1 

These students, including our newest members of the school, the kinders, participated in a locomotor activity called “Twister” and practiced moving around the gym while listening to music and movement songs. 

Some other games that we played this week include “Over, Under, Around, Through”, “Fitness Reaction”, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Cones”, “Scoop”, and “Bumper Cars”.

Hello Woodbine Families, 

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and you are all excited for the beginning of the school year! I am delighted to be back at Woodbine this year teaching Physical Education. I will be teaching every grade level twice to three times a week. We will be learning both in the gym and out on the field/compound. Please ensure that your students have suitable shoes for being active. 

Throughout the year please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. My email is clbignell@cbe.ab.ca or you can reach me by phoning the school! 

I am looking forward to a fantastic year!