Physical Activity
Physical Activity is the promotion and engagement of exercise and movement in addition to the 60 minute per week timetabled curriculum subject of Physical Education. Castleplunkett N.S actively promotes the message that children require 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. In Castleplunkett N.S we have been extremely busy as we have engaged in a wide variety of different programmes, ideas and initiatives which have inspired the children to become more active.
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Castleplunkett N.S promotes the full range of fundamental movement skills during break times and pupils are encouraged to run, play and to do 'talking as you’re walking'. We have two daily playground breaks and our school yard is zoned and marked to allow children to engage in a variety of different activities. Our school has playground leaders who set up activities and sports equipment during break times for others to use.
All pupils engage in an extended classroom based physical activity break on wet days and short physical activity breaks during the day (Go Noodle, Brain Gyms, Bizzy Breaks etc.).
Our school has agreed an Active School Flag slogan which is "Run, jog, walk or kick! Get out, get active! Get fit!
Our school incorporates physical activity into school calendar events as we hold different seasonal activities and events which can be viewed in detail below.
Finally all classes participated in a non-competitive running initiative called 'Run Around Europe' this year that lasted a number of weeks.
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Castleplunkett N.S promotes the full range of fundamental movement skills during break times and pupils are encouraged to run, play and to do 'talking as you’re walking'. We have two daily playground breaks and our school yard is zoned and marked to allow children to engage in a variety of different activities. Our school has playground leaders who set up activities and sports equipment during break times for others to use.
All pupils engage in an extended classroom based physical activity break on wet days and short physical activity breaks during the day (Go Noodle, Brain Gyms, Bizzy Breaks etc.).
Our school has agreed an Active School Flag slogan which is "Run, jog, walk or kick! Get out, get active! Get fit!
Our school incorporates physical activity into school calendar events as we hold different seasonal activities and events which can be viewed in detail below.
Finally all classes participated in a non-competitive running initiative called 'Run Around Europe' this year that lasted a number of weeks.
Castleplunkett N.S ASF Slogan
Run Around Europe
We started our non-competitive running initiative 'Run Around Europe in September. We marked a 100 metre track in the school yard. We decided that each lap would be equal to a kilometre. Children from junior to sixth class were involved.
To help us record how many laps we did in each session a lollipop stick was handed to each pupil when they competed a lap. The children also recorded a running diary of what distance they covered and how they found their run. The children saw a noticeable difference that with more practise that the running became easier as they were getting fitter. We loved our daily run.
It was a wonderful collective effort from the whole school and we were delighted to reach our final destination of Kazakhstan completing a total of 7019 kilometres.
Cross Country Event
This year we decided to focus on the athletics strand and we entered in the Roscommon Cross Country Event. Children from third to sixth class participated in the run on the 4th of October in St Brigid's GAA pitch, Kiltoom. Our running for 'Run Around Europe' certainly helped us as we prepared for the big race. We had a great day despite the wet weather conditions!
Active Breaks in the Classroom/ Rainy Day Breaks
In Castleplunkett N.S we try our best to get our 60 minutes of exercise a day. Sometimes when the weather is not good we have to stay indoors. We also take breaks between classes to help our brains to work to their optimum. We do activities like Go Noodle, workout exercises and table tennis.
Go Noodle
Gonoodle helps us with our coordination, body awareness and gross motor skills. One of our favourite guided dance is 'pop see ko'.
Exercise Workouts
For variation we also like to do a workout with different and challenging exercises. Every workout session is different as it depends what exercises are pulled out from the cup and for how long or how many seconds they last.
Table Tennis
The 5th and 6th class have their own table tennis competition in place. This takes place during wet lunch and break times. This is a great form of exercise and the children love playing against each other.
Bizzy Breaks
We love to do active breaks as transitions between subjects. This helps us to refocus and it enhances our concentration levels. We do activities like chair aerobics, brain gyms and catch 100. We also go for a brisk walk on our Active School Walkway and sometimes we ask each other tables.
Playground Leaders
We have fantastic playground leaders. We have a rota which includes children from second to sixth class so we take it in turns and share this important role. The children plan and organise games for each other at lunchtime. They set up the equipment, explain and demonstrate the activities or games. They are also great for encouraging and motivating everyone to get involved and to have fun.
Active Homework
From January all the children started their Super Troopers programme where they were set physical activity homework each night. Super Troopers also encourages children to record their healthy eating.
Skipping With Skip n Rope
Mark from Skip n Rope came to our school in March for a one day workshop. Pupils learned different footwork skills, beginner to intermediate skipping tricks, long rope games and partner skipping. We were challenged with new routines, tricks, along with developing teamwork skills like partner skipping, long rope and team games. It had a really positive impact on the whole school as skipping became a popular activity on yard at breaks.
Jersey Day
In October we held a Jersey Day where all the proceeds were donated to Goal. We wore jerseys of our favourite sports teams.
Operation Transformation
The whole school loved doing the Operation Transformation 10 @ 10 . We had a special interest in Operation Transformation this year as we followed local man David Cryan on his journey. We really enjoyed the daily 15 different workouts.
Active Schools Walkway
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In April we launched our new Active School Walkway. Abi from our Active School Committee officially cut the ribbon to open the route. It is 240 metres around the perimeter of our beautiful school. We have loved walking this scenic walk. The Active School Walkway is a perfect place to do 'Talking as You’re Walking' at break times. Our Active School Walkway is also used for orienteering. We also use it as a break between lessons and we even test each on tables as we walk around. We were delighted to be chosen as winners of the Active School Walkway Launch Competition.
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Seasonal Activities
Halloween Activities and Scary Skeleton Dance
At Halloween we organised different fun physical activities. We did 'push the monkey nut with your nose races', pin the wart on the witch and wrap up the mummy. We also did a Scary Skeleton Dance which can be viewed on our twitter page.
Jingle Bell Run
On the 20th of December Ms Miley and the ASF committee organised a jingle bell run. We started off with a festive themed warm up and guided dance. We then went for our run around the grounds of the school. We had a great Christmas playlist playing in the background which really helped us to run faster. To finish we did a relay where we made snowmen from sports equipment. We wore our Christmas jumpers and Bóthar kindly gave us santa hats to wear. The money we raised from the Jingle Bell Run/Christmas Jumper Day was donated to Bóthar.
Just Santa Dance
We loved doing the 'Just Dance - Santa Clones Dance' and 'Just Dance - Jingle Bells Dance'. It was a fun and festive way to workout!
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Seachtain na Gaeilge
The older pupils taught the younger children an irish dance during the week of Seachtain na Gaeilge. Then on Friday we held a ceolchoirm for the whole school and they performed the irish dance. Check out the action photo below.
