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Ready to roll

Students at Lakeview School look forward the rollerskating unit in phy ed class

Photo by Jenny Kirk Second-graders work on their rollerskating skills during phy ed class recently at Lakeview School. Pre-K through sixth-grade students have the opportunity to skate for 44 minutes a day for eight days.

COTTONWOOD — Physical education is an integral part of the overall education of every student. And with phy ed classes getting shorter and shorter — oftentimes even cut from curriculums — it’s becoming even more important that schools provide high-movement opportunities for every child.

Recently, Lakeview School did just that, as pre-K through sixth-grade students have been getting a good workout — and having a blast  —  while rollerskating during phy ed class.

“It’s good for their balance, it’s good for their coordination, it’s good for cardiovascular and the kids love it,” Erik Lundberg said.

Lundberg and Stephanie Bot are the primary physical education teachers at Lakeview.

“I have all the even grades, so I have K, 2, 4, 6 and then I have ninth and some of the high school electives,” he said. “Mrs. Bot has pre-K, 1, 3, 5 and then seventh and a couple of high school grades. Then, Mr. (Jared) Keaveny has seventh-, eighth and ninth-grade health and then eighth-grade phy-ed. He also does the adaptive phy-ed.”

Lakeview School used to do the rollerskating unit many years back, but stopped for a number of years. Now, the old-time favorite has been back for three years.

“It definitely meets a lot of the standards we have,” Lundberg said. “It’s just something extra for the kids. There’s just not skating rinks anymore. I think the closest one is in St. Cloud. A lot of parents say,’ Oh, I remember doing that. We had so much fun.’ So the kids get to experience that.”

The activity is definitely a highlight for many of the students.

“When we start sending out permission forms, every day after that is, ‘Do we get to skate today?’ And I’ll say, ‘No, not for another three weeks.'”

Once the students start rollerskating, it doesn’t take long for many of them to catch on.

“It’s good. I like it,” second-grader Cheyenne Haney said. “I like when I go really fast.”

Second-grade student Aaliyah Podratz agreed, noting that rollerskating was fun.

“It’s kind of hard, but it’s fun,” Podratz said. “What I like best is rollerskating and spending time with friends.”

Lundberg explained that the skates and wrist guards are provided by Skate Time out of the Twin Cities.

“They deliver the skates,” he said. “A lot of different schools in the area do the rollerskating. They bring it to one school and then they come out and reconfigure what they need to have in the bins and then drop them off at the next school.”

Second-grader Kyler Sorbo said the wrist-guards help when he falls — and everyone falls.

“It’s fun,” Sorbo said of rollerskating. “You get to go fast.”

And when he falls, he remembers what Lundberg told the class: “Always get back up.”

That’s what Haney said as well. When asked what Lundberg told her to do when she falls, she said: “Get up.”

Lundberg said he talks to the students about all aspects of rollerskating.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall — we talk about that,” he said. “So we tell them to get small if they’re falling. We teach them how to fall, how to stop, how to turn and how to go backwards.”

The phy ed teachers also supply large blue mats for beginners. The padded mats not only provide a slower surface for skating, it is also more protective when students fall.

“Those that aren’t comfortable going on the wood floor yet, we put the mats out and they can go on there and practice their skating a bit,” Lundberg said. “Most of them that are on there will step off and onto the wood floor. Then when they get uncomfortable again, they’ll go back onto the mats.”

Oftentimes, teachers and parents join the students in the gymnasium.

“Teachers will usually come in by the end of the week, and they’ll spend 15-20 minutes with their kids,” Lundberg said. “Every once in awhile, we’ll have parents hop in, too. We have a few extra sizes, so if we get too many, we don’t have enough for everybody. But we have a few extras they can use.”

Since there is an abundance of room and to get the most use out of the roller skates, students from the same grade level are combined into a single phy ed class for the rollerskating unit.

“We combine the whole grade,” Lundberg said. “They get eight days. It goes for two weeks. They have four days out of the week they get to do it. Each grade gets to go for 44 minutes.”

Compared to ice skating or inline skating, rollerskating is typically more supportive on ankles.

“We use the four wheels because you have more ankle support,” Lundberg said. “Some of the students ask if they can bring their inline skates, but we have to use the ones Skate Time brings us.”

Lundberg said that like a lot of other schools, Lakeview has had to cut phy ed class time. But moving to a different schedule helped expand the curriculum again.

“Phy ed got knocked down right away,” he said. “Then we went to an eight-period day. That has expanded more electives for us. Unfortunately, we have a little shorter class period. But they can get more electives in.”

Lakeview has required phy ed classes through ninth grade.

“In grades 10-12, they have to have a half-credit — they can have more — but they have to have half a credit in there somewhere,” Lundberg said. “We have six different electives. We have phy ed classes. We have weightlifting classes. We have a sports physiology class.”

Lundberg said that schools have some discretion on the phy-ed curriculum.

“It’s kind of at the school’s discretion,” he said. “The way the standards are stated, the students have to get so much movement. Well, recess and stuff can count toward that. We’re pretty lucky. It would be nice to have five days, but we get to see the kids four times a week for phy ed.”

Unfortunately, the rollerskating unit also comes with a cost. But school supporters have stepped up to provide assistance.

“It’s $8 a student, but we get it down to $2 a student,” Lundberg said. “We get donations from the Lakeview Booster Club and PTO. And we work the concession stands and build up some money for them.”

Lakeview district secretary Heidi Beck said the cost of the roller skates is not in the budget, so it’s great that the phy ed teachers — especially Bot — go above and beyond.

“It costs $3,000 to bring the skates in,” Beck said. “Steph is really the driving force (to get the financial support). She really goes the extra mile.”

From the looks on the students’ faces, they appear to love rollerskating. Most likely, they aren’t even aware of all the different benefits they’re getting from the activity. Rollerskating — like many of the phy ed activities — help to combat obesity and improve a child’s muscular strength, flexibility, body composition and cardiovascular endurance.

Physical activity can help develop motor skills, promote self discipline and teach cooperation and teamwork. It can also be a much-needed break from the rigor of classes for some students as physical activities often reduce stress and release tension and anxiety.

Physical education also provides the opportunity for students to develop social skills and improve their self-confidence and self-esteem.

With Christmas break approaching, Lundberg said the rollerskating unit comes at an ideal time.

“We talk about how there used to be rollerskating rinks around here — how Marshall used to have one,” Lundberg said. “So we talk about how they’re not around too much anymore. But they are still out there and they can look online to find them. I always tell them if they’re going any direction for the holidays — now that they’ve practiced — try to get their family out. Rollerskating is a great thing for families to do.”

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