HIS Nation - MAPS Feature: Physical
Episode 5: Physical Education with Arbee Tabo
We have been looking at MAPS, an acronym for the four pillars of our educational program here at Holbrook Indian School.
These four pillars are:
Mental,
Academic/Artistic,
Physical,
Spiritual.
In this edition of HIS Nation, we are looking that the “P” Physical. There are many things that contribute to our focus on the physical growth of our students. In this episode, we talk about one of them, our physical education program.
At Holbrook Indian School (HIS), we have four objectives for our physical education program. We encourage students to be physically active, get outside, have fun, and build relationships. These objectives hold for all levels, from elementary to junior high and high school. To accomplish this, we have school-wide events and activities revolving around physical activity. These include intramural games, annual events, and a sports program.
Sports Program
The sports program is for junior high and high school students. The program involves participation in events like cross country and volleyball with other schools. It provides students the opportunity to develop specific physical skills while accomplishing the other objectives of physical activity. Physical education teacher, Arbee Tabo, was instrumental in creating this program that began in 2018.
Intramurals
Intramural games have been physical activities around HIS for years. These school-wide games involve students and staff playing together and are an effective means of building relationships. Mr. Tabo states, “One of the purposes of intramurals is for students and staff to play together.” They develop mentorship opportunities, he says. It is an opportunity for staff who are not teachers to spend quality time with students.
Annual Events
At the finish line. One of our annual events is a cross country race, where teachers and students participate.
One of the annual events that involve physical activity is our Native American Heritage Day. In November, we honor Native American Heritage Month and dedicate a day to celebrating through various festivities. In one of the day’s festivities, students participate in traditional Native American games. In doing so, not only do the students keep up their goal of being active, they also retain the appreciation for their culture and heritage.
“A lot of them are quite challenging and relate to building skills,” says Mr. Tabo. “It’s surprising to see students that are not normally active really get into it when they play these native games.”
All of these activities are great motivators for our students and even our staff to remain active. Although students are required to participate in many of these school-wide events, the willingness to participate is significantly improved compared to other areas where it can seem like a case of doing it just because you have to. Since the spread of COVID-19, activities like the sports program are currently on pause. Other activities have taken on a modified form.
Still, the objectives remain the same: stay physically active, get outside, have fun and build relationships.