Welcome to Sperreng Middle School

Parents and Students,

On behalf of the boy's PE/Health department, WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!! We hope everyone had a great summer and is ready for an exciting year here at Sperreng. This blog is how we stay in contact with the masses and share updates about what we are doing in class. All 3 boy's teachers use this blog to show what is going on in class so be sure to check back often.

This year we not only welcome a new 6th grade class, we also bring over some friends from Truman Middle School due to the boundary updates. We are very excited to welcome all of our new students and look forward to meeting all of them. This year at Sperreng we also welcome a new addition to the boys PE/Health staff, Mr. Kit Norton. He comes to us as the former director of LAA (now CommunityEd) and has 15 years in public education. I will speak for him when I say he is ready to be back in the classroom and bring his expertise to his students.

If you ever have questions/concerns/compliments about class please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher and we would be happy to speak with you. I have listed all of the contact info below but please know that email is the best way to reach us as we are never at our desks. Thanks for reading this post and we look forward to a great year!!!

Bryan Hilton
bhilton@lindberghschools.ws
Ext. 2471

Kit Norton
knorton@lindberghschools.ws
Ext. 2470

Nick Wagenknecht
nicholaswagenknecht@lindberghschools.ws
Ext. 2470

Open House Information

Click the link below to access the information shared at open house Monday night. Let your teacher know if you have questions.

Open House Information

End of the Year Wrap-Up

The year is wrapping up and boy has it flown by!!! We accomplished a lot of great things this year and also rose to some new challenges.

First, I'd like to recognize some award winners from Coach Wag's 6th Grade Boy's Classes.

The first award is the Green Fitness Award. This award is given to those who achieved at least the green fitness standard on all of the fitness tests. The green fitness level is the top half of boys in the country. The Green Award winners are:


Patrick Bartz

Chris Carbajal

Austin Chappie

Spencer Cruzen

Sam Dalfrey

Jase Dowell

Joey Ferretti

Aidan Myers

Jackson Poole

DeShaun Ramey

Ian Royer

Andrew Schraut

Michael Shamia

Johnathan Somers

Cooper Terrill

Ryan Varadian

Jackson Vaughn

Congrats to those boys for an awesome accomplishment!!! Our next award is the Gold Fitness Award. This award is given to those who achieved the gold fitness standard on all of the fitness tests. The gold fitness level is the top 15% of boys in the country. The Gold Award winners are:

Parker Anderson

Dane Bjorn

Eli Preheim

Faris Selimovic

Congrats to those boys for an outstanding achievement!!!

Next, I would like to share some numbers with you regarding how much my classes improved this year in terms of physical fitness scores. In my classes all year, I have stressed the importance of improving and beating your best. I think these numbers are proof that if we push our students and give them the tools to succeed that they will impress us. We started every class with some sort of a fitness warm-up (running, crossfit, interval training, etc.) and it is nice for the students to see that those efforts are not wasted. For the boys side of things:

Mile Run: 87% of students improved their time from first quarter

Pacer: 90% of students improved their score from first quarter

Sit and Reach: 72% of students improved their score from first quarter

Shuttle Run: 97% of students improved their time from first quarter

Sit-Ups: 98% of students improved their score from first quarter

Pull-Ups: 56% of students improved their score from first quarter

And for the girls side of things:

Mile Run: 87% of students improved their time from first quarter

Pacer: 88% of students improved their score from first quarter

Sit and Reach: 84% of students improved their score from first quarter

Shuttle Run: 81% of students improved their time from first quarter

Sit-Ups: 96% of students improved their score from first quarter

Pull-Ups/Flexed Arm Hang: 81% of students improved their score from first quarter

It truly was a remarkable year here at Sperreng and we can't wait to come back next year (after a small summer break of course) to continue the work we have already started. Our increased focus on fitness has paid off for this year but taking care of your body is a constant process and hopefully our students now see the benefits of living an active lifestyle. 

Have a GREAT SUMMER AND SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!! GO FLYERS!!!!!

Running the Gauntlet

Coach Hilton's classes have been learning about repeats over the last six weeks.  Each week we have done a different work out that is related to running. First we did 400 meter repeats, then 800, then 100. After the longer distances we did speed workouts that deal with 20-30 and 40 meter sprints and finally this week we did hill repeats up a 10-15 meter hill. The guys have been doing great.

Fitness Testing

Coach Hilton's and coach Mertens's classes have been fitness testing this week. The guys have been doing a great job. Some highlights are we have had sever students run a sub 6:00 nile and run over 100 in the pacer test.

Pacer and Mile Update

 Coach Hilton's classes ran their third quarter pacer this week and will run the mile today or tomorrow. The guys are doing a great job as 90% of the students were able to improve their pacer score.  The students have been working very hard and it is showing in their results. My classes will run the mile either today or tomorrow.

Reminder About Best Choice Next Week

Just a reminder that we have Best Choice next week. I have linked the lesson outlines and a document of fast facts that can hopefully answer some of your questions. Let me know if you have additional questions. As with any health unit, a student can step out of the class at any time if they are uncomfortable. Also, if a parent does not want their child to receive the presentation, they can opt their child out.

Don't forget to sign up for the Fitness 5k!!! There is a link to the flyer below. All participants will now get a coupon for a free bike helmet as well...the perks just keep getting better!!!

Thanks and let me know if you need anything.

Go Flyers!!!

Fast Facts Flyer

6th Grade Outline

7th Grade Outline

5k Sign-Up Sheet

Between Now and......

Spring Break is right around the corner!  The students in Coach Mertens' classes have been working hard and having fun since we finished up our Health curriculum.  In these last two weeks leading up to Spring Break, there are a couple of announcements that I want to reiterate from one of Coach Wagenknecht's posts.

Sperreng PTO/PE are hosting their first Fitness 5k on April 22nd at Mini Ha-Ha Park. This is a run/walk 5k with three fitness pit-stops along the way. We hope to have a race full of Sperreng students and parents.  Students can turn forms into their Coach at Sperreng or mail them to the address on the form. The registration form can be found under the tab at the top of this page, and it will have more information to hopefully answer any questions you might have.

**The incentive for students to sign up aside from challenging their physical fitness**

If we get 320 registrants from Sperreng by March 17th, all activity logs for 4th quarter are for extra credit!!! That is potentially 5 extra credit points per week for your son/daughter. Also, anyone who wears their 5k shirt on a preannounced day in May will have the opportunity to throw a water balloon at one of their teachers. 

Over the next two weeks we will have our Best Choice presentations.  The 8th graders will be participating March 6th-10th, and the 7th graders from March 13th-17th.  This presentation focuses on puberty, healthy relationships and appropriate sexual health. This is always a topic that makes some parents/students uncomfortable so if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me and let me know. Any students that feel uncomfortable have the option to step out of the room at any time and any parent that does not want their child to participate in the curriculum can excuse them and we will give them an alternate assignment.  Please click the links below outlines of the lessons.

7th grade Best Choice outline

8th grade Best Choice outline

As always, if you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Only the Bold Wear Green and Gold!!!

Few Announcements

Buckle up, this post has a lot of important information!!

We are in our final week of health and are covering the reproductive system. The students have done a great job these last two months covering our health curriculum. We have covered everything from structure and function of the body to mental health to CPR. A lot of information to ask your son/daughter about.

First, Sperreng PTO/PE are hosting their first Fitness 5k on April 22nd at Mini Ha-Ha Park. This is a run/walk 5k with three fitness pit-stops along the way. We would love to fill this thing with Sperreng students/parents. You can turn forms into us or mail them to the address on the form. The registration form can be found under the tab at the top of the page and that has more information but if you have any questions, please let me know.

**The incentive for students to sign up aside from challenging their physical fitness**

If we get 320 registrants from Sperreng by March 1st, all activity logs for 4th quarter are for extra credit!!! That is potentially 5 extra credit points per week for your son/daughter. Also, anyone who wears their 5k shirt on a day in May will have the opportunity to throw a water balloon at one of their teachers. Should be a fun time!!!

Next up are a few scheduling announcements. 

March 6th-10th: We are swimming. That is a 4-day week. Please remember to bring in swimming stuff that week. Swimming make-ups for girls will be offered the following week only in the morning from 7-7:25.

The following week, March 13th-17th we will have our Best Choice presentation. This presentation focuses on puberty, healthy relationships and appropriate sexual health. This is always a topic that makes some parents/students uncomfortable so if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to let me know. Any students that feel uncomfortable have the option to step out of the room at any time and any parent that does not want their child to participate in the curriculum can excuse them and we will give them an alternate assignment. I have a link to their curriculum for anyone that wants to view it beforehand.

Thrive Curriculum

I think that is it for now. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Go Flyers!!!

Tying it All Togther

The 8th grade boys worked very hard the first quarter to learn about and develop their skill with Olympic lifting. They have done a great job and are now able to incorporate their skills into more complex and intense workouts. Feel free to ask them about what they have been doing in class.

The End of Swimming!

After two weeks, Coach Mertens' classes are now finished with swimming for the year.  We will be exclusively in physical education units that require our normal dress out of a t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes.  Please make sure that you are all prepared so that you can participate and get all of your points!  We will be in the little gym this week!  DON'T FORGET YOUR ACTIVITY LOGS!

Wag's Classes Working Hard in Health

We have covered a lot of material in these last few weeks in health. Today we started on our disease prevention and control unit. The students were given a learning menu to complete. They had to complete 4 appetizers, 1 entree and 1 dessert over the material. It's just a fun way to look at the material in a different way. They will be working on this for the next three days in class. The requirements can be found on our Moodle course under "Disease Prevention Project". Every student should know how to log in to Moodle but if not, I have attached directions on how to log in. We are in health for three more weeks and then will be back in the gym for the rest of the school year. Crazy to think we have already been in health for 5 weeks, I feel like we just started.

As always, keep those activity logs coming in and let me know if you have any questions.

Logging in to Moodle

Go Flyers!!!

Coach Mertens' Classes Moving Back to PE!!!

After 8 weeks in our Health curriculum, we are now moving back into our Physical Education units!  We are going into two weeks of swimming beginning next Monday 1/30.   Students need to bring trunks, a towel, and goggles if they would like.  Students should continue to work on their activity logs which are always due at the beginning of the week.

CHAD's Coalition Visited Wag's Health Classes

Today in health, Coach Wag's classes had a guest speaker from CHAD's Coalition (Communities Healing Adolescent Depression and Suicide). For those that are unfamiliar with CHAD's, it is a group that speaks on the topics of depression and suicide and is geared towards adolescents. They are a local group that was founded in 2005 by the parents of a teen that committed suicide. I have provided a link to their website, which has more information and may answer any questions you have.

Due to the mood of this topic, I recommend asking your child about the presentation and having a conversation about any questions they have. This is a serious topic so please reach out to your son/daughter and talk about any problems they might be having.

Hopefully your son/daughter learned something from this presentation but if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact myself or someone in the CHAD's Coalition.

Website Link:

Presenter: Abbie

  

Wagenknecht's Classes In Health

Coming out of our break, Coach Wag's classes will be in health for 8 straight weeks. I like to do all of my health weeks in one chunk because the kids tend to do better in class when it is all at once. Going back and forth sometimes creates chaos in the classroom. This also prevents any confusion as to where students are going on certain days. While in health I ask that students bring a device in everyday (if they can and are allowed to) as most of our learning is done through Moodle. Moodle is an online classroom similar to Google Classroom where students can view, complete and submit assignments to me online. This means that kids who are sick, miss a day or are in Leap can view assignments even when they are not in class. I will update the calendar daily with assignments but understand that some students may be further ahead or behind what I post on the calendar. By the end of February all students should have all assignments turned in and completed. Once health is over, I will no longer accept health work.

During health, the students accept a big role in their own learning and discover what it means to manage their time efficiently. Some students may struggle with this and I do my best to work with those students. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Check with your son or daughter to make sure they are keeping up with their assignments and you can always check the calendar.

Lastly, we are still expecting activity logs to be turned in. Since we are not active in class however, they cannot count their PE time towards their log. As a reminder, we also offer a 100-rep option of exercises and Anywhere Workouts that count the same as a 60-minute exercise. Those can be found under the activity log tab of this blog.

Thanks and Go Flyers!!!