Local teachers, Corina Gardener of Wombat Public, and Kate Menz and Brendan Shean of Murrumburrah Public School recently attended the Good for Kids Good for Life - Physically Active Children in Education (PACE) training in Wagga.
Left to right: Kate Menz- Murrumburrah Public, Corina Gardiner- Wombat Public, Brendon Shean - Murrumburrah Public at the 2022 PACE training session in Wagga Wagga.
The PACE program supports K-6 teachers in schools to schedule 150 minutes of planned physical activity into their weekly timetable as required by the Department of Education.
In a busy school day, it is often difficult for teachers to allocate set times to achieve this requirement. The PACE training and package provides busy teachers with many practical activities that they can easily fit into their busy days through a series of energisers and by also incorporating incidental physical activity into other curriculum areas.
Renee Ford, Principal at Murrumburrah Public, is very pleased with the training package and will be utilising the resources and ideas in her school timetabling.
“The staff who attended PACE training yesterday found the training to be especially useful and hands on. Additionally, the accompanying resource package is very comprehensive and full of practical simple activities which can be easily accessed by busy teachers,” Renee said.
Barb Manwaring Health Promotion Officer based at Young Health Service also congratulated the Hunter New England Team on the development of this practical package.
“Many Australian children are not meeting the recommended physical activity levels. The benefits of improving physical activity patterns in young people are numerous and include improvements in concentration, academic performance, memory, and many aspects of their physical, mental and social health,” Barbara said.
“The school setting is an ideal opportunity to offer more physical activity in a supportive environment. This very practical training and the accompanying resources really assists teachers to achieve the 150 minutes of physical activity weekly requirement.”
The PACE program is designed by the Hunter New England Health Promotion Team. For more information, contact Health Promotion Officer Barb Manwaring on 0429 638 323.
Asthma and hayfever sufferers are reminded that they may be at greater risk of severe symptoms in spring due to high pollen counts and weather conditions.
