As the Physical Education Specialist I am excited to be back for another year of working with your children. The program philosophy is to develop both the mind and body through movement. Physical Education is an integral part of your child’s education that contributes to his/her growth and development. It is my goal to give your child a positive P.E. experience and to help him/her gain an appreciation of the importance of staying healthy through lifetime fitness and recreational activities. Your child will have experiences in individual, team, and group activities that place an emphasis on participation, cooperation, and success through personal goals. In addition, with the new “Five for Life” Health and Fitness Curriculum, your child will have access to additional health and fitness lessons. A key element that contributes to a student’s success and well-being is safety. While in P.E. class students need to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Clothing should be conducive to movement and our recommendation would be for students to wear athletic shoes. However, if your child does not have athletic shoes, the shoes he or she wears should either have laces or velcro straps. It’s important that shoes have a back that goes over the heel and rubber soles are essential. If you aren’t sure about a shoe, please feel free to contact one of us and ask – we are happy to help out.

The Gym-NEWS-ium is the P.E./Health newsletter that is published for the students and families at Lawton Elementary. The newsletter will come home once a month and will include important information about health and safety, what is happening in P.E. classes, special events, and other important information. I am very excited to be bringing the Gym-NEWS-ium home to you!

Students in 1st-5th grade will continue with their P.E. portfolios. Each student has his/her own portfolio to help organize the contents. On "Portfolio Days" students have an opportunity to work towards earning club cards and record their progress on other skills. All students choose what skills they want to work on so their portfolio is very individualized.In addition to portfolio days, students also keep P.E. homework and other writing activities they do in P.E. class.

Kindergarten students will start using their portfolios in the 2nd half of the school year. Just like the older grades, Kindergarten students will have an opportunity to earn special club cards that are more developmentally appropriate.

Students always have access to their portfolios as well as parents. Your child's portfolio is a work in progress and shows his/her development in skills over several years. Your child will be able to take the portfolio when he/she graduates in 5th grade. You are always welcome to stop by a take a look at the portfolios if you are in the school.

Hello! My name is Cheryl Parks and I will be one of your child's Physical Education instructors while he/she is here at Lawton Elementary I've been at Lawton since 1994 and in this time I have worked hard to build a program that promotes success for all children, life fitness, and making healthy choices. I have also worked for both Central Washington and Western Washington Universities teaching Elementary Physical Education.

My educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. In addition, I have a Master's degree in Educational Technology and my Administrative Certificate. I continue my professional development by attending workshops, conferences, and by working with other colleagues in the district. I continue to teach Physical Education classes for UW and SPU with two of my mentors. These experiences have helped me design a program for our students that are fun, challenging, and prepares them for a life of fitness activity.

In my time outside of school I definitely have the same philosophy about health and fitness at home as I do at school. I keep very busy with my two children who are now four and two and a half years old. Both my children have a love for playing sports - she loves volleyball and he loves basketball. They love to be active by climbing, riding their bikes, swimming, and just plain running around! They definitely keep me on my toes but I love just about every minute of it.

I look forward to another great year!