Sixth Grade Participates in Olympics Unit in P.E.

The summer Olympics may still be two years away, but Brandeis sixth graders are competing in several Olympic (and non-Olympic) sports in their P.E. class. After selecting the countries they would like to represent—Israel, Canada, Japan, and Madagascar, to name a few—teams of students are participating in basketball, dodgeball, soccer, handball, track and field, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball. Walk into the gym or onto the blue top during class, and it’ll sound like an Olympics competition: students cheering on their country and donning the colors of their country’s flag. “This unit encourages good sportsmanship and creativity with bonus ‘spirit points’ awarded to help bolster their final scores,” says P.E. teacher Patrick Alcasabas. After all of the events are tallied, the winning country will be rewarded with a pizza party!

Adds Coach Pat (as he’s known to his students), “I love the students’ enthusiasm when it comes to cheering on their teams and representing their countries. In the end, this is more than just a few slices of free pizza they are competing for; I hope they go into seventh grade remembering how much fun it is to cheer for their teammates and how important it is to have grace in winning and losing.” MORE PHOTOS