I have to say, I feel that 2012 is going to be a great year! I can't wait for the Spring Semester to get rolling because I have a TON of activities planned! Stay tuned to my blog and the website to keep up with everything going on! See you in class on Thursday!

Stay Fit!

Mrs. Lindsay

Hello DES Parents & Students!!!

School starts in 11 days!! I just wanted to remind you all that when you are shopping for back to school supplies don't forget to buy a pair of tennis shoes or sneakers to wear in PE. Remember that every time you come to PE you should wear tennis shoes/sneakers and clothes that you can easily move around in. Boys this means shorts or pants that aren't tight but also not too baggy and a t-shirt. Girls this means shorts or pants (also not tight but not too baggy) and a t shirt. If you wear a skirt or a dress to PE it is best to wear shorts or leggings underneath.  Remember, there isn't a lot of sitting down in PE so come ready to have fun, be active and learn about being fit and healthy for life!!

I can't wait to see all of my current students and to meet all of my new Kindergarten students as well!

See Ya Soon!

Mrs. Lindsay

I hope you are all having a great summer!!! If you are looking for something fun to do with your family before school starts back check out the Activity Info Tab - - - there is a list of ALL of the events happening at Arkansas Post National Memorial this summer. They are all FREE and open to the entire family!

I have posted new activity calendars for the summer months under the newsletter tab so you can find ways to be active everyday! I am looking forward to seeing you all once school starts back!

Have fun until then!

Mrs. Lindsay

Hello Friends,


I am asking that anyone who has ever had an excellent PE teacher, who currently has a great physical education teacher, or loves the PE teacher who teaches their child to contact the Arkansas Board of Education and their Arkansas State Senators and Representatives and tell them you want to keep Certified Physical Education Teachers TEACHING PHYSICAL EDUCATION in public schools! There is currently a pending rule, that if passed by the Arkansas Board of Education, would take away the requirement to have a Certified Physical Education Teacher teaching physical education. To my understanding this will be brought to the Arkansas Board of Education at the September 2011 meeting. The Dept of Education is currently taking comments on this pending rule by email (for sure through July 16th and possibly longer) and I would beg of you all to voice your opinion on the matter. Please send your remakrs to [email protected] and [email protected].

I would also ask that you contact your State Senators and Representatives about this matter. We have made tremendous strides in our state concerning physical education and the prevention of childhood obesity in the past few years, if this new rule passes it will set our state back immensely and will have a huge impact on our children. We have to remember that to have a healthy child we must educate the Whole Child, mentally, physically and emotionally. Taking away a Certified Physical Education teacher would take away the expert in teaching your child in the Physical Domain!

If you would like to see the document being presented to the State Board of Education you can find it on the Arkansas Department of Education website. Go to www.arkansased.org - - - in the search box on the side type in Pending Rules - - when the search appears click on Pending Rules - Arkansas Department of Education (The first item that appears) and then you wil click on "Rules Governing Nutrition and Physical Education Standards...."

You can also try to access it by copying the link below into your browser.

http://arkansased.org/about/pdf/pending/ade_259_nutrition_revised_2011_pending.pdf

If you would like to contact the Arkansas State Legistature and do not know who  represents your area or how to get in touch with them you can find their information on the following sites:

Arkansas House of Representatives - www.arkansashouse.org

Arkansas State Senators - www.arkansas.gov/senate

You can also voice your concerns to Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and First Lady Ginger Beebe:

Governor Beebe has a contact section on his website governor.arkansas.gov

Mrs. Beebe has a contact section on her website www.arkansasfirstlady.com


I have one more request: If I am or was your childs/childrens PE teacher and you and/or your child LOVES Physical Education at DeWitt Elementary, I would like to compile letters from our students and parents telling why they like PE and why it is important to them. There is going to be a public hearing next Wednesday in Little Rock and I would like to be able to take tangible documents from the children who I teach. This issue is about our children and the quality of education they will receive in the state of Arkansas and I think their voices should be heard by the masses.


Thank you all for your time and your help. If I teach your child I am so happy that I get to work with them every day! Feel free to share this information with others.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Robinson Beaton, M. Ed.
DeWitt Elementary School Physical Education Teacher

2010 Arkansas Governors Council on Fitness Physical Educator of the Year

2010 Arkansas AHPERD Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year 

Family Fitness Night was a HUGE success! We had over 150 people in attendance and an amazing group of exhibitors this Spring! There is not enough room to list all of my exhibitors, but you were ALL AMAZING - - and a complete list can be found under the PE Events Tab! I want to thank all of you who made the Family Stations successful:Jody Smith & Jody & Vicky Price at Mack's Prairie Wing - - - the kids LOVED all of the Archery Equipment and wanted to take home the toys; SSG Faucette & all of the other Army National Guard Soldiers, everyone LOVED the climbing wall and are already asking when you will be visiting again; Mr. Don Boggs, I had so many compliments on how well the bowling station was organized and that the students working with you were very professional and patient with all of the younger students; Chris Stuart with USTA - - I have a feeling that DeWitt Elementary will be purchasing Tennis Equipment in the near future because the kids LOVED your station and last but not least Mrs. Tammy P - - - the Milk Mustache Photographs turned out amazing! Thanks to all of you the stations were amazing. I also have to thank all of the other volunteers for the evening: Keta Turner, Paula Snyder, Ragan Snyder, Heather Danner, Pat Rawls, Jane Hubsch, Vicky Price, Michelle Holllimon and all of my Junior High Cheerleaders who helped with cleaning and set up! Also thanks to Amy & Brent Watkins, Jody Smith and Jody & Vicky Price for helping put all of the tables back out after the event was over. I couldn't have done any of this without all of you,so once again THANK YOU!!! I don't think I left anyone off of the list - - - but if I did, I am sorry and I do thank you as well!

I hope all of my current DES students and my former students who are now at DMS & DHS had an excellent time and that you and your families learned some new ways to stay active this summer! I look forward to making Family Fitness Night an event we look forward to every semester. I LOVE teaching Elementary PE and I hope you all love it as well! Thanks for being great kids and great families!!!

Mrs. Lindsay

Can you believe it is already May!!! This is going to be a BUSY month for PE Events!!!! Thursday May 5th is DeWitt Family Fitness Night, Friday May 6th is the Hershey's Track & Field Games, Saturday May 14th is the MLB Pitch, Hit & Run Competition. During school hours we will also finish our fitness testing with the distance walk/run and the 5th grade Archery Clinic!

This has been a great year and I hope to end it with a bang! We now have 23 exhibitors for Family Fitness Night! I would love to have over 250 people for the evening! It is open to ANYONE in the DeWitt School District, K-12, DeWitt to Gillett! Make sure you spread the word, pack you car and come have fun on May 5th!

I can't say how much I absolutely LOVE teaching at DeWitt Elementary School! I hope you all love PE as much as I do! I hope you all have a great month and remember, Keep Moving in May!!!

Mrs. Lindsay

I hope you are ALL planning on attending the DeWitt Family Fitness Night! I have been working hard to make this a very fun and exciting event for EVERYONE in the DeWitt School District. We have exhibitors coming from all over the state, with more people signing up to exhibit every day! You can find out who the exhibitors are under the PE Events tab on this website!

The DeWitt Family Fitness Night has been registered as a Let's Move In School Activity Site during National Physical Education & Sport Week sponsored by NASPE the National Association of Sport and Physical Education! Let's Move In School is a program that is aligned with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move Initiative. You can find out more about Let's Move In School at www.aahperd.org and about the Let's Move Initiative at www.letsmove.gov.  I am so excited to have our school participating in such a big program!

Please plan on attending and bringing your whole family! If you have any questions about the event feel free to contact me using the Contact tab on this website!

See You Then!

Mrs. Lindsay Beaton

Last week I was fortunate to attend the National AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance) Convention & Expo in San Diego, CA.  I was able to attend a forum about the future of Physical Education, the PE 2020 Forum, attend sessions to learn new ideas for PE class and how to earn grants for several programs already taking place at DES. Most of all, I was able to network with Physical Education teachers from around the United States.

 While talking to many of my physical education peers I found out that DeWitt Elementary School is very lucky - - - many schools around the country are outside for all classes unless it rains and then they have a very small room to cram a lot of students into, they have hardly any equipment to use during class and they don't have the support of their school or community.

I am so happy to say that I have all of the above, an awesome gym, an abundance of equipment and great support from my school and our community! I am really excited to  start working on some new activities I learned at the Convention and implement them in our physical education program at DES.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all those who are always willing to give of their time when I need help with Physical Education programs, I couldn't do them without you and I know the kids appreciate you as well!